Untrustworthy
by x.golden.quill.x
Summary: When Brambleclaw finds out that Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze aren't his kits, he feels as if Squirrelflight thinks he's untrustworthy - and what will he do after he finds out? Haha, I suck at summaries.
1. Truth

*****WARNING!*** **

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

Note: This takes place at the Gathering near the end of Sunrise, when Hollyleaf tells the Clans everything, including that Squirrelflight is not the three's mother. When everybody hears that, Brambleclaw asks Squirrelflight why - and he thinks she didn't tell him because she didn't trust him.

And he left the Gathering, unsure of what to do.

This is written from Brambleclaw's point of view, if you're unsure c:

Please note that I changed the chain of events that happen after the Gathering to fit my Fanfiction! c:

*******

I shouldered my way through the crowds of cats. I was heartbroken, utterly heartbroken. Squirrelflight didn't trust me. After everything we'd been through - the whole Ashfur thing, getting back together, the sign from StarClan about us that Leafpool had received - she didn't trust me. The pain was searing.

Cats parted left and right to let me through. I passed them all without speaking. Their faces were full of sympathy, but I didn't want their sympathy. All I wanted to do was understand. Each cat I passed looked like they felt bad for me, and that made me feel even worse, if that's possible.

During my desperate escape I passed Tawnypelt, who tried to stop me. She put a paw out in front of me as she saw me coming, her green eyes sharp with worry and confusion. I weaved my way around her paw and kept going, however much she wanted to speak to me. She must've wanted to talk to me a lot, because she kept following me until I turned around.

"Brambleclaw! What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like?" My voice was dull with pain. "I'm leaving. I've got nothing better to do. After all, if this happened to you, what else would _you_ want to do?" My voice turned snappish with heartbreak. Didn't she understand it? Had she never felt this way before?

"Don't leave!" Tawnypelt hissed at me. Cats were turning to look at us; I saw Reedwhisker of RiverClan and Tornear of WindClan just a few tail-lengths away from us. "Please, Brambleclaw, don't leave…"

I didn't stay to listen any longer. I turned tail and started to shoulder my way through more cats, and I made sure that Tawnypelt wasn't following me. Once I finally reached the tree-bridge, I leapt on top of it and stared back at the Island, looking through the bushes and at the cats that I could just barely make out. When I saw the leaders all trying to calm everybody down, I shook my head, feeling remorseful. I didn't feel any regret, though - I knew deep down that I was making a good decision.

I leapt across the tree-bridge and onto the peaty ground on the other side. The instant my paws touched the soil I started running towards WindClan territory, hoping that the Clans would stay at the Gathering long enough for me to get back to the camp without them catching up. I just wanted to be alone.

*******

I padded into the camp. As the familiar scents of the Clan washed over me, my eyes started to sting. I instinctively padded towards the fresh-kill pile and sat beside it for a few heartbeats, just staring at the sandy ground beneath my paws. I couldn't do anything more. In my head I was reliving the times Squirrelflight and I had shared. I could remember the sheer look of bliss on her face and how she twined her tail with mine when she told me of Leafpool's sign. The sign that told her that we were meant to be together. So much for the sign; maybe StarClan had gotten it wrong.

Slowly I raised my eyes towards Silverpelt and looked up at the Warriors of StarClan. I wondered if my mother, Goldenflower, was watching me, or if her attention was turned towards the catastrophic Gathering.

My heart burned when I looked at the nursery. I'd used to visit there so often when Squirrelflight had been raising Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather. Back then, I hadn't known anything. If a StarClan cat came down from Silverpelt and told me that Squirrelflight was hiding everything from me, I wouldn't have believed them. But it was the truth, nevertheless.

I stood up and stared at the paw prints of all of the cats. I looked at them, wondering which were mine, and wishing I could go back to the time when I'd made them. I wouldn't have known, yet. I averted my eyes from them since they caused too much pain, and looked up at the Leader's Den. Firestar. How would he react to his daughter's secret? And how would he react upon hearing that his other daughter, the Medicine Cat, had broken the Warrior Code and had kits - especially with a cat from another Clan?

All of a sudden, Brackenfur, who had been left behind from the Gathering, padded out from the Warrior's Den. He froze when he saw me, his eyes wide. "So I was right," he murmured. "I _though_ I smelled you. What are you doing back so early? Where's the rest of the Clan?"

_Oh, StarClan_, I thought to myself. I froze like he had when he first saw me. This wasn't good. "Brackenfur… she left me."

"What?" Brackenfur asked, looking genuinely puzzled. "Who left you? I don't get what you're saying."

"Squirrelflight. She left me." My voice broke a couple of times when I told him. "She… Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze aren't my kits at all. She was lying to me this whole time, Brackenfur."

"What?" Brackenfur repeated, his eyes wide. "That's impossible! Who's the father, if you're not it?"

Our conversation had quickly developed into a heartbreaking subject for me, and apparently our voices had been more than a whisper, because Cloudtail and Sorreltail stuck their heads outside of the Warrior's Den simultaneously. Their eyes were wide with horror.

"We heard the whole conversation," Sorreltail said. "Brambleclaw, I'm sorry." Her amber eyes were soft with sorrow.

Cloudtail was gritting his teeth as he fully emerged from the den, his claws piercing the ground. "Who was the father? Why would she do that, and lie to you?"

"I'm not sure why she would do that," I answered. Brackenfur was over at the den with Sorreltail now, touching his nose to one of her ears. "And the father was Crowfeather."

"Crowfeather? WindClan?!" Cloudtail spat.

"Yes, but Squirrelflight wasn't the mother." I didn't feel like stopping for a dramatic pause, so I just launched right into the explanation. "Leafpool was the mother. Squirrelflight was covering for her sister all along."

The blank look of horror in all three cats' eyes wasn't hard to identify. I felt a pang of worry; everybody would be on Leafpool when she returned from the Gathering. What would the poor Medicine Cat's fate be? I wasn't nearly as mad at Leafpool as I was at Squirrelflight.

"What will happen?" Sorreltail asked. I noticed that her voice sounded small, and that she was now leaning against Brackenfur for support. I guessed that she could hardly believe that Leafpool, her best friend, would do something like that.

"I'm not sure," Brackenfur whispered into her eyes, his tail draped across her shoulders comfortingly. "Nothing bad will happen to you, I assure that."

"She's Firestar's daughter, I'm sure she won't be hurt," Cloudtail hissed. His fur was bristling still. After all, he and Leafpool were family, connected by the flame-furred leader.

"I'm not worried about myself, Brackenfur - I'm worried about Leafpool! And what will you do, Brambleclaw?"

"I don't know." I hung my head, feeling heartbroken. I smell Squirrelflight's stale scent from earlier that day before the Clan had left for the Gathering. The thoughts of her wouldn't stop coming. I felt bad; what had I done to be deemed untrustworthy? Had she ever loved me, or was she just covering for Leafpool all along? Was I just another piece of the puzzle?

I pricked my ears, and at the same time, so did Cloudtail. "Here comes the Clan," he murmured, his fur laying flat.

I nodded, having noticed the same thing, and turned around to face the oncoming Clan. Firestar was at the lead, Sandstorm and Graystripe on either side of him. His eyes were confused and his pelt was dull. Sandstorm's tail was lashing, her eyes worried. Graystripe just looked like he thought the world was ending.

The whole Clan filed into the camp, and Firestar immediately leapt onto the Highledge. In the crowd I picked out the faces of Leafpool and her three kits, but Firestar's calling of a Clan Meeting interrupted my thoughts. I sat down, chills going down my spine as the rest of the Clan filled up the empty space. Soon, the flow of cats stopped as Firestar began to speak.

I scanned the crowd of cats.

Squirrelflight wasn't among them.

*******

_To Be Continued_

*******

**So, how'd you like the first chapter? This is my first fanfic c: I'd really, really appreciate it if you'd review, it'd make me feel all sparkly and special. You know you want to make me feel sparkly and special! XD **


	2. Decisions

*****WARNING!*** **

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

Thank you to the reviewers! I'm glad you liked the first chapter. I'll get writing now. ^^

*******

When I saw that Squirrelflight wasn't one of the cats in the camp, my blood turned to ice. _Where was she? What was she doing? Is she okay? _Alright, alright, I admit, I did actually worry about if she was okay or not. I hated myself for still wanting her to be okay, even after all she'd done to, well, make me _not_ okay. You didn't think my feelings for her would wash away that quickly, now did you?

I turned my attention back to Firestar when I realized he was talking. I'd missed the first couple of things he said because of my horror at realizing Squirrelflight was gone.

"-and after what happened at the Gathering, I think we should all calm down and make sure our borders are being patrolled. All of the Clans know that ThunderClan is weak right now, and we shouldn't let our boundaries be vulnerable just because of these little things…"

"Little things?!" Dustpelt called out. "They aren't little; they're huge!"

Way to go, Dustpelt, I thought to myself, sliding my claws into the ground. Go right ahead and add to the tension.

"Huge things that we'll solve later," Firestar corrected himself, staring down at Dustpelt with narrowed green eyes. His flame-colored pelt was bristling; he had a lot of things on his shoulders right then. His daughter had broken the Warrior Code in several ways, while his other daughter had covered for her without his consent. He hadn't been told anything. All of the Clans knew about this, thanks to Hollyleaf, and they were probably thinking this would be a good time to attack.

I looked around the clearing and spotted Leafpool sitting by the Medicine Cat's Den looking at her paws shamefully. I could only imagine what was running through her head at the time. What would happen to her, after all?

"What are we going to do?" Daisy yowled through the thick silence.

Firestar paused before he answered, and buzzing conversations rose up from the Clan. "I don't know, Daisy," Firestar answered quietly. You could hardly hear his voice above the worried whispers of the Clan.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Spiderleg hissed. His voice rose above all of the others. Once again, my claws slid into the ground. As if Firestar wasn't facing enough already, cats like Spiderleg had to go and be difficult.

"Didn't I make myself clear? I just don't know!" Firestar hissed. I stared up at him in a shocked silence; Firestar wasn't this hostile to the Clan. I saw Spiderleg shrink away with shock when he realized Firestar had snapped at him.

Silence greeted Firestar's outburst. A few moments later, Firestar shook his head and sat down. "I'm sorry, Spiderleg. I don't mean to shout… I'm just underneath a lot of pressure."

He paused again, and then stood up, a new light in his eyes. "We must make sure the borders are safe. Sandstorm, Graystripe, Cloudtail, and Brambleclaw. Patrol the WindClan border. I'll go with Thornclaw, Berrynose, and Sorreltail to the ShadowClan border. The rest of you, stay here and make sure the camp is protected." With that, he leapt down from the Highledge, and everybody started to disperse.

Sandstorm beckoned to me with one flick of her tail, her eyes dull and remorseful. She must've been in shock due to her daughters' actions. I met her, Graystripe, and Cloudtail by the edge of the camp, and without speaking we all went out into the forest, headed towards the WindClan border.

Though the scents of mice and squirrels drifted past my nose, I wasn't at all interested in the prey. I barreled my way past everything, not caring if I made a lot of noise. This wasn't a hunting patrol, so we didn't have to be careful about not scaring the prey. I was being reckless, though; all of my senses and thoughts were dulled by Squirrelflight's betrayal. I just couldn't get her out of my mind; her and her - no, Leafpool's kits.

The fact that Firestar kept Leafpool and her three kits inside the camp didn't escape my notice. I half wondered why he was doing this, but I pushed the thought from my mind and focused on making sure WindClan wasn't trespassing on our territory.

When we finally arrived at the border, the sound of moving water hit my ears. It reminded me vaguely of the Tribe's home near the waterfall, but that only brought back more memories of Squirrelflight…

…And Crowfeather.

I didn't get it. None of this was making any sense… why would Crowfeather have kits with Leafpool, if he'd been in love with Feathertail? Everybody who had went on the journey knew that. But things apparently changed when we arrived at our new homes. Crowfeather had fallen in love all over again, with another cat from a different Clan… how wrong was that? And then he fell in love with Nightcloud? The poor cat must've been desperate for love. Either that, or his heart was working against him.

Like mine.

I joined Cloudtail in scenting the foliage near the stream that divided the territories. I was distracted, however; I couldn't stop myself from staring over at WindClan's territory, thinking, _Where are you, Squirrelflight?_

Cloudtail noticed my angst and touched me lightly on the shoulder with his tail-tip. "Had a rough day?" he asked me.

I nodded. "You could say so." My heart gave a sad squeeze as I tossed my head and focused on scent-marking the border.

My eyes grew tired quickly. It was well past moonhigh, and I felt like dawn was approaching. The Gathering had been unusually long, and if it weren't for Hollyleaf, I'd be in the Warrior's Den right now, dreaming peacefully. But I couldn't blame Hollyleaf for anything; it was better to know of Squirrelflight's betrayal… without Hollyleaf, I wouldn't know that Squirrelflight had been faking the whole time.

A yawn escaped my jaws. I saw Graystripe looking at me, sympathy glowing in his amber eyes. He opened his jaws, as if to speak, and then shook his head and closed his mouth, turning away from me.

Not until Sandstorm yowled, "Let's head back!" did we go back to the camp. We'd been there for quite a while, and I was yawning quite a bit. Cloudtail, too, had a dull look to his usually bright blue eyes. The whole way back, everybody was silent, walking with their heads and tails hanging despondently.

When we got back to the camp, I collapsed into my nest, not able to keep my eyes open for a moment longer.

*******

I slept a dreamless sleep.

I was woken the next morning by bright, piercing sunlight shining through my eyelids. I winced and blinked my eyes open, wishing I had fallen asleep in a position where my tail covered my eyes.

Once my eyes had adjusted to the bright sunlight, I padded out into the clearing and saw that the camp was buzzing with activity. Firestar and Sandstorm were sharing tongues and talking underneath the Highledge, while Brackenfur and Birchfall, accompanied by Hazeltail and Cinderheart, were coming back into the camp carrying prey, though it was thin and scrawny-looking. Ferncloud and Daisy were sitting outside of the nursery, watching Rosekit and Toadkit romp around. Longtail was sitting outside of the Elder's Den, looking up towards the sky. Jayfeather sat outside of the Medicine Cat's Den, staring at the ground, his eyes showing great emotion.

You could say the camp looked normal, except for that nobody was wearing their usual, cheerful faces. Everybody looked dejected and unsure about the future, which was certainly how I felt.

I padded out towards the middle of the camp, over near the fresh-kill pile. Brackenfur and everybody else had just dropped their prey off, so it was looking pleasantly large. I picked off a vole from the top and then padded a few paces away and sat down with my piece of prey, biting into it. I sure could use the food…

In the middle of my second bite, I was aware of somebody standing above me, casting a shadow on me and my meal. I looked up and saw Firestar looking down at me.

"Ah, Brambleclaw. Good to see you. I was needing to talk to you last night but I found it inappropriate timing… but now would be nice." He looked from me to his den at the top of the Highledge, and I took the hint that he wanted to talk to me somewhere less public.

So I stood up, my prey in my jaws, and followed him to his den.

"Now, Brambleclaw, I know you must be feeling very… er, hurt, by what my daughter Squirrelflight did." He was sitting down, his paws curled around his chest, looking at me with grave eyes. I'd abandoned my prey as soon as he began to stare at me and decided to just listen.

"That I am, Firestar," I responded, choosing my words carefully.

"I'm not sure why they would do such things. I mean, both of them. Leafpool _and_ Squirrelflight."

"I'm not, either," I said.

"But what I need your help with, Brambleclaw, is deciding what to do." Firestar sighed and closed his eyes. "At this point, I'm unsure of what to do. I'm not sure of what to do with Leafpool. She's my main problem." He opened his eyes and looked straight at me.

"Let her stay," I blurted out all of a sudden. I had no idea where it came from, but _smack_, there it was.

Firestar looked at me with an odd expression. "I wasn't planning to make her leave, Brambleclaw, but thank you for clearing that up. What I'm saying is, I'm not sure if we should let her continue on as the Medicine Cat, after what she did. Medicine Cats, as you know, aren't allowed to have mates or kits… and especially not have kits with a cat from a different Clan."

I sighed. "I'm not sure of that, either, Firestar. You see, I think you might want to let her continue on… because, after all, she didn't leave the Clan for Crowfeather. She continued on with her career as a Medicine Cat and gave up her kits and her mate for the Clan."

"That she did." Firestar nodded once.

"But… she did break the Warrior Code." I sighed again. What am I, the prince of sighing? "I'm not sure. The decision's up to you, Firestar."

"That it is." Firestar closed his eyes again. "What I'm thinking now… I think I'll let her stay as the Medicine Cat. Nothing will happen to her kits; it's not their fault their parents broke the Warrior Code, however many times they did."

"Right." Some of my friends were half-Clan, even my sister was. I couldn't blame him for making that decision about Leafpool's kits. My former kits.

All of a sudden, Firestar pricked his ears. "I'm sorry to cut this chat short, but I think I hear Dustpelt calling your name." He angled his ears towards the Highledge. "You might want to go. He sounds like he's in a bad mood."

I listened carefully and heard Dustpelt caterwauling my name. "You're right," I said to Firestar. "Thank you for consulting me." I stood and dipped my head clumsily then ran out onto the Highledge, tripping down the stones on one side of it. I landed at the bottom near the fresh-kill pile, beside a grumpy-looking Dustpelt.

"Finally," he grunted. "I've been calling you for a while. You're coming to patrol the ShadowClan border with Poppyfrost and I."

I narrowed my eyes. Who's the Deputy? Oh, that's right, I am. What right did Dustpelt have to be ordering the patrols? Instead of arguing or doing something dense like that, I nodded and simply said,

"Alright."

*******

_To Be Continued…_

*******

**So, how'd you like it? This one was a bit longer than my first chapter; I hope you enjoyed reading this one c: **

**Brambleclaw says to review. ^^ **


	3. Gratitude

***WARNING!***

Spoilers for Sunrise inside.

***END WARNING!***

**Thank you to the reviewers! :D I agree; Brambleclaw should get more respect. Just because he's emotionally unstable doesn't mean he's not the deputy anymore!**

***********

**I padded out of the camp behind Dustpelt and Poppyfrost. I felt wholly humiliated, not leading the patrol; I'd gotten used to ordering and leading the patrols. I kept my head low, avoiding eye contact with other cats, just watching Dustpelt walk ahead with his head held high. Since when had Firestar decided to make Dustpelt the Deputy? I felt like clawing Dustpelt's ears for his disrespect.**

**I shook my head. Maybe I was thinking irrationally and Dustpelt **_**was**_** allowed to do this, and it wasn't disrespectful.**

**Or maybe I was just going crazy.**

**Once we were close to the ShadowClan border, I lifted my head and started scenting the air. ShadowClan hadn't passed by here for a while; their scent was stale. Dustpelt, Poppyfrost and I got to work scent-marking the border. After that was over with, I stared across the border, like I had at the WindClan border.**

_**Where are you, Squirrelflight?**_** I asked the forest silently. I knew it was foolish to be worried, and that she'd probably come back safely - after all, she **_**had**_** been to the mountains and back, even though she hadn't been chosen by StarClan. And why, for StarClan's sake, was I worried for her?! **

"**Earth to Brambleclaw," Dustpelt said. I snapped my head back over to where they were standing; Dustpelt was looking furious, while Poppyfrost was looking confused. She was probably wondering what was wrong.**

"**Sorry." I sighed and padded over to them. "Let's head back."**

"**Actually, I was planning to do a bit of hunting," Dustpelt mewed, still looking vexed.**

"**Oh." I ducked my head. Time to take a leap out of the safety zone. "Shouldn't I be deciding that, though? After all, **_**I'm**_** the Deputy."**

**A silent snarl curled Dustpelt's lip. "But who's leading the patrol? That's right, I am."**

_**This isn't the time for an argument, Brambleclaw,**_** I told myself. **_**But he's just… being so annoying… **_

"**But who was supposed to be ordering the patrols?" I snapped back. Poppyfrost's eyes were slowly widening, surprised that we were starting a fight right here on the border of ShadowClan's territory. Not exactly the smartest thing to do, but it had to be done.**

"**I'm sorry, but **_**you**_** were with **_**Firestar**_** when you were **_**supposed **_**to be ordering the patrols. So that's why the task fell with me." Dustpelt's eyes narrowed.**

"**Firestar called me to his den. I couldn't help that, Dustpelt. **_**I'm sorry**_**," I shot back, mimicking his lame 'apology'. **

**Dustpelt flicked his tail and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Bramble**_**star**_**," he growled, looking just plain tired of everything. So he should be. I couldn't care less about the whole thing, and I was completely fine with continuing it, but then again, Dustpelt's sharp tongue wore out after a while.**

**Poppyfrost shot Dustpelt a worried look and then shot me the same one. I gave her a 'Don't worry about it' look, and the fear melted off of her face. **

**We padded back to the camp in silence. It had been a completely disastrous patrol, and all I wanted to do was curl up in my nest and forget about the past few days' events.**

***********

"**Brambleclaw!"**

**It took all of my willpower to suppress a groan. I whirled around and faced the cat who had called me; to my surprise, it was Leafpool.**

"**Leafpool?"**

"**Brambleclaw." She was panting slightly. "I need to talk to you. Not here, but like… in my den, please."**

"**Okay?" I looked at her, puzzled. She was already walking towards her den, so I just followed suit and padded after her. She didn't speak again until we were inside, where nobody could hear us. Jayfeather wasn't in, so the whole 'nobody could hear us' thing was actually true.**

"**Thank you." Leafpool was sitting with her tail curled around her paws, her amber eyes glinting with gratitude.**

"**For what?" I asked, puzzled. Okay, first she wanted to talk to me - in a private place! - and now she was thanking me. Odd.**

"**Helping Firestar decide to… not punish me." She bowed her head and looked at the ground. "Though I do really deserve punishment for… what I did." Her voice cracked and she sounded like she was choking up. So what does a polite tom do when a she-cat's in distress? **

**I put my tail on her shoulder. "It's okay. You're welcome." Comfort her, of course.**

**She looked up and blinked her amber eyes as I took my tail from her shoulder, the sadness washing away. She nodded, and then continued on. "That's not all I wanted to talk about, though…"**

**Oh, great. "What else did you want to talk about?" I asked her. My tail twitched; I'd rather not be in this situation. I'd rather be out on patrol or something, though not with Dustpelt.**

"**Squirrelflight."**

_**StarClan, help me! **_**"What about her?"**

**Leafpool looked at me, discreet surprise in her eyes. "How she's missing, and all… I thought you'd want to know where she went."**

_**Is she pulling my leg or something, or does she really know?**_** I looked at Leafpool, and I guessed I had the same expression she had. "I do want to know… if you know where she went, that is." **

"**I do."**

"**Where is she, then?" I asked her, feeling like she was going a bit slow, just to annoy me. Curiosity was making my edgy.**

"**She's… in the mountains. With the Tribe. At least, that's what she told me."**

"**The Tribe?!" I gasped, my eyes widening to the size of an owl's. What was she doing in the mountains?**

"**Yes, the Tribe." She looked grim. "I'm sorry."**

**I was too bewildered to speak for a few moments. "Sorry… for how she betrayed me? Or that she's in the mountains? For StarClan's sake, why is she in the mountains?"**

"**I don't know." She frowned. "She just told me that that was where she was heading. She left after the Gathering… while we were heading home. While we were passing across WindClan territory, she pulled me aside and told me that she was going there… she told me to tell nobody."**

"**Yet you're telling me." It was my turn to frown. "Why, Leafpool?"**

**Leafpool looked at me shrewdly. "I don't know. I just feel like I can trust you. And… there's something else, Brambleclaw. Something she told me to tell you."**

**My senses heightened and I experienced a cruel adrenaline rush. "What'd she say?" I asked. **

"**She said to tell you that she was sorry."**

***********

**Sorry this one's shorter! I hope everybody liked this one, it gets the story moving on a little bit. Poor Dustpelt is going to be experiencing Brambleclaw's wrath! But Leafpool just cleared things up a little bit for our poor protagonist - with this knowledge what will Brambleclaw do? :O **

**Brambleclaw and Leafpool, in the middle of their magical little conversation, are telling you to review. **

_Reviewwwww, reviewww~!_


	4. Friends

*****WARNING!*** **

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

Thank you to the reviewers :D [Again!] Don't I always thank you? Isn't that a good reason to REVIEW?

**Eona the Crim - **Thank you for your suggestions. I looked back the day I got your review and realized that you're right about all that stuff, and I'm going to try hard in this chapter not to write like that. I mean, overusing 'sorry' is a bit pathetic xD

//Also!// I'm sorry the last chapter was written in bold. I have no clue how that happened, because it wasn't bold when I wrote it in Word. I can only hope that it doesn't happen with this chapter, I guess.

* * *

The cold air stung my throat.

It was a few hours after Leafpool and I had talked about Squirrelflight in her den. Immediately after finding out where Squirrelflight was, I'd set off - without anybody's permission. I hadn't even told Leafpool or Firestar where I was going. I haven't even told _you_ where I was going, for StarClan's sake!

I was headed to the Tribe.

To find Squirrelflight.

And to find out why she apologized.

Finding out that Squirrelflight was sorry made my head spin. I had no clue why she felt that way; had she not betrayed me after all? Was it just a big misunderstanding?

I told myself not to get my hopes up, just in case it really wasn't a misunderstanding. Which it probably wasn't.

I had just made it past the edge of Clan territory when the sun had started to set. I had made my way through WindClan territory slowly and carefully, making sure to not be caught. Whatever I did, I did it while making sure I wasn't being followed. When I'd been in ThunderClan territory, I'd avoided all of the patrols that had been sent out earlier by _Dustpelt_, so they wouldn't ask me where I was going. It would've been easy to just say, "Oh, I'm going hunting" but would they believe me, when I'd been on a patrol just a little while earlier?

The reds and oranges splattered across the sky told me that I'd either be traveling during the night hours, possibly even to moonhigh, or I'd better find a place to sleep and hunt.

I went for option two and decided to sleep and hunt.

The first place that caught my eye and screamed 'Place to rest' at me was a small copse of trees. I decided to camp there. Ever since I'd left WindClan territory the land had become increasingly hilly and devoid of vegetation aside from shrubs and small bushes, but out of the blue, there were some trees!

Thankful for the foliage over my head, I made myself a small nest out of leaves and moss. It wasn't as comfortable as my nest back at the ThunderClan camp, but it would do for just one night or so.

After burying my nose in the leaves for a few heartbeats, I got to work finding some prey. The trees were thick with the scent of squirrels, though I couldn't see any in their leafy canopies. Slighter than the scent of squirrels was the scent of mice. I could go for a mouse.

I pricked my ears and listened for any sounds of mice or squirrels. After a little while, I picked up the sound of a mouse nibbling on a seed - I could just barely hear the cracking of its tiny teeth. I scanned the small forest-like area where I was making my temporary home until I found it, sitting underneath a Beech tree, the seed in between its paws.

Quietly I started to stalk the mouse, making sure my pawsteps were light and silent.

The mouse didn't sense me coming. Hooray for me.

A few moments later, I pounced, and a second after that, I had the mouse laying limply in my jaws.

I settled down a few pawsteps away from my nest and tucked into the mouse. Once I'd finished, however, I was still hungry. I didn't care, though, I was tired after a long day.

* * *

At dawn the next day I awoke.

I was still hungry, but I was bent by determination to reach the Tribe that day. It was a far-fetched ambition, but some mouse-brained little voice in the back of my mind told me I could do it.

I left my little copse of trees, my safety-point, after hunting a little more. I'd caught two mice and devoured them within a minute. After I'd eaten, I set out.

For a little while I was walking alone, feeling lonely and despondent. But that changed quickly.

"Brambleclaw!"

My blood turned to ice when I heard someone yelling my name. The voice was coming from behind me, so I whirled around as quickly as I could. I couldn't believe it. I'd been caught.

"Brambleclaw," the voice panted.

My eyes widened with shock when I saw Lionblaze a few fox-lengths behind me. What was he doing here? Had he been following me the whole time?

"Lionblaze!" I breathed, not caring to cover up my shock. "What are you doing here? How long have you been following me?"

"Since moonhigh, when I realized where you were gone. I was assigned to a patrol and so were you, but you didn't show up for it. I talked to Leafpool…" His eyes were wide with exhaustion and I could tell that he'd been running a lot to catch up to me. Part of me felt bad; if I had known, I would have waited for him.

All of a sudden, I remembered Leafpool. "Leafpool? What good did that do? I didn't tell her where I was going."

"She told me about your conversation, though, the one about Squirrelflight being with the Tribe. So I figured you must be going to the Tribe to figure out what happened between the two of you."

Lionblaze's words struck home and I winced. "Err, yes. You're right."

"I knew it!" Lionblaze said, his amber eyes glowing. His amber eyes, the ones that looked so much like mine…

"So, why are you here?" I asked him. I didn't know what else to say.

"I wanted to tag along. Find out why Squirrelflight _lied_ to me… and why she lied to you, too."

"Did you tell anybody?"

"No."

"Good." I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn't told anybody where he was going. If he had, Firestar's 'rescue' patrol would already have found us. "But, Lionblaze… why did you follow me?"

Lionblaze took a moment to think, and then he answered me. "If I can't be your son, I figured, I can be your friend. And friends help each other out."

I was partially touched by his words. The other part of me wanted to tell him to get back to ThunderClan and stop risking himself. He'd been to the mountains before, but it was a dangerous place for a young cat to be. Yet… that hadn't stopped Squirrelflight when she was an apprentice. It hadn't stopped me.

"Thank you." I decided against making him turn around.

"You're welcome." Lionblaze closed his eyes and purred for a few heartbeats, and then cracked them open again. "So… let's get going to the mountains. We won't get there if we just stand around all day."

_That's the way to go, Lionblaze,_ I wanted to tell the young cat. But no; that was something a father would say to one of his kits. And I wasn't Lionblaze's father anymore.

Anymore.

That sounded so weird.

"Let's go," I agreed, nodding to Lionblaze.

Until about sunhigh we walked and were talking about different things, though we both made an effort to avoid the whole Squirrelflight/Leafpool thing. And Hollyleaf's confession at the Gathering.

Like I said, we walked until sunhigh. At that time we stopped and hunted; I could sense we were getting close. It was getting to the point where I had to stop and figure out a route around steep drops and talk rocks before we actually went and continued on with our travels. Walking through that terrain was like a walk through my memories.

We hunted and then carried on. The terrain around us was totally reminding me of the time when it was just Squirrelflight, Stormfur, Crowfeather, Feathertail, Tawnypelt, and I. I was starting to get scared; we would reach the Tribe soon.

Which mean Squirrelflight's secrets would be revealed soon.

* * *

"Do you remember the time that you and your siblings snuck out of camp when you were kits?" I asked Lionblaze.

"With the foxes?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I do remember that." Lionblaze winced.

We had moved onto the father-son type of conversations now, even though I felt monstrously bad for doing so. I feel bad to say so, but Lionblaze started it. He began talking about events that had happened when he and his siblings were kits, and when I was still their father. I earnestly joined in, not even realizing what I was doing.

We were silent for a few moments, until I said, "I hate to say so, but… I'm sort of apprehensive."

Lionblaze tilted his head and looked at me. "I am, too, Brambleclaw. I can't help but worry about what Squirrelflight will tell us. _If_ she's going to tell us anything, that is… she might not want to tell us about why she betrayed you. And me. And my siblings."

"That's what I'm afraid of, too," I sighed.

"And I'm sort of afraid of seeing the Tribe again. Though it'll be nice to see Stormfur; I liked him while he was with ThunderClan."

All of a sudden, I froze, and my heart skipped a bit. I leaned my head close to Lionclaw's.

"Don't look now, but there's part of the Tribe… _Brook_!"

* * *

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**How'd you like it? Huh? Huh? Huh? **

**Okay, this chapter got the story moving along. I don't really like Lionblaze in general, but I decided to insert him in the story for, you know, plot-purposes x3 **

**Lionblaze, along with Brambleclaw and the Tribe are telling you to review.**

**Reviews = Faster updates. **

**Simple logic never fails! ;)**

**I luff you all. Especially if you review.**


	5. Arriving

_***WARNING!*** _

_Spoilers for Sunrise inside. _

_***END WARNING!***_

_**Yay, yay, yay. I got a bunch of reviews for the last chapter - about 9, I think! Thank you so much to the people who reviewed, your reviews mean a lot to me. 3 **_

_**//I added to Stoneteller's personality in this Fanfic. In the books, Stoneteller just seemed so… drab to me. I made him a little better. **_

_**Enjoy~~**_

_***********_

"_**Brook!" **_

_**Lionblaze's eyes widened as he spotted the brown tabby she-cat, as did mine. I couldn't believe our luck, being spotted by a cat that we knew and liked from the Tribe. Also, if there was Brook… Stormfur should be nearby.**_

_**When she heard me call out, Brook's ears pricked and she looked up. When she saw Lionblaze and I, she smiled at us and started running over.**_

"_**Brambleclaw," she meowed. "Lionblaze. Welcome to the mountains." **_

_**She spoke in her strange, Tribe accent; though it was different from what I was used to hearing, the first word that popped into my mind when I heard her accent was 'beautiful'.**_

"_**Thank you, Brook," I said, dipping my head to her.**_

"_**What are you doing here?" Brook asked, looking at us. The strangeness of the situation must've just dawned on her. "Were you sent here?"**_

"_**No." Lionblaze shook his head.**_

"_**We're here… to see Squirrelflight," I answered, looking at my paws. **_

"_**Squirrelflight? Oh, yes… she's here. She never told Stormfur and I why she's here, though." Brook sighed and shook her head, the sparkle in her eyes fading slightly. "But she's here, all the same. Why do you need to see her? And does Firestar know that you're here?"**_

_**Ouch. "No, he doesn't," I replied, wincing slightly. "This is, um, and emergency."**_

"_**Important enough that Firestar wasn't told that you're coming here? From what I know of ThunderClan from the time I spent there, you're usually supposed to tell him things." Brook looked at us with skeptical eyes, and for a moment I felt like turning around and marching back to ThunderClan just to tell Firestar and make Brook feel better.**_

"_**Err, yes. It's really urgent that I speak to her, and I didn't have enough time to tell Firestar before I left." **_

"_**Hmm, whatever happened to 'we', Brambleclaw?" Lionblaze snorted, looking up at me with his amber eyes. "I need to speak to her just as much as you."**_

"_**What's the occasion?" Brook asked. "You two seem almost angry. What happened?"**_

"_**A lot of things" was my simple answer. I couldn't say anything else; I didn't know exactly what**_** to say. After all, I only knew my side of the story. I'd have to ask Squirrelflight first before I could answer Brook's question.**

**When Brook didn't answer, I just continued on. "Can you tell Stoneteller that we're here? Please?" **

"**Yes. Will you be staying here with the Tribe, or will you be leaving after you speak to Squirrelflight?"**

"**I guess we'll be staying here for a few days. Not long, though," I answered. When I informed Brook that we'd be staying for a few days, Lionblaze grinned excitedly. **

"**Alright," Brook meowed. She smiled at what I'd told her. Half of me wondered why, but I pushed that to the back of my mind and thought about talking to Squirrelflight. **

"**Will Stoneteller let us stay?" Lionblaze asked.**

"**After what you did to help the Tribe when the loners were attacking us, most definitely," Brook answered, nodding her head and starting to pad in the direction in which she'd come from. "Follow me, we'll go talk to Stoneteller now." **

**Lionblaze and I looked at each other. Lionblaze was grinning, but I kept my mouth in a grim, straight line. I didn't know what to expect from the next few days, over which we'd talk to Squirrelflight. **

**The young cat and I padded after Brook as she bounded nimbly over the mountainous terrain. She took us through several rocky areas and past a stream, and though the journey took quite a while, I didn't care. This was nice enough. **

**The air was cool, but not too cold. The sound of falling water was always in my ears, and I quite enjoyed it. It was a beautiful sound that reminded me of our other times at the Tribe; the first time, when it was just the StarClan-chosen cats, the second time, with all of the Clans, and then the third time, when we came to help the Tribe.**

**Thinking about the journey made me think about Crowfeather, and how Feathertail died, saving us and the rest of the Tribe from Sharptooth, the lion-like cat. Thinking about Feathertail made me miss the beautiful, kind she-cat, and I was overcome with grief. Lionblaze was definitely too young to know his father's first love, so he wouldn't understand my sadness. Brook would, though. And so would Squirrelflight, but I didn't feel like confessing any grief to her.**

**After a few solid minutes of following Brook, we finally arrived at the Tribe's cave underneath the waterfall that provided the beautiful falling water noise. I relished the sound in my ears and followed Brook in, feeling adrenaline being pumped throughout my body. **

"**This way," Brook guided us, flicking her tail over towards a dark corner. We obliged and followed, and all of a sudden we heard a deep meow.**

"**Brook," Stoneteller meowed. "You've brought Brambleclaw and Lionblaze; what are they doing here?"**

**I scuffed my paws on the ground at the sound of Stoneteller's voice. He sounded… reprimanding. Did he not want us here? Were we a problem? **

"**They're here… well, you know how Squirrelflight came here? They're here to talk to Squirrelflight." Brook looked at Stoneteller, who was standing up, with wide amber eyes. "I'm sorry, if you don't want them here."**

"**Ahh." Stoneteller closed his eyes and nodded for a moment. He blinked his eyes open and then looked at Lionblaze and I. "Well, you can stay for however long you want."**

**I blinked in surprise. It was that easy? I bowed my head and dipped it gratefully. "Thank you, Stoneteller, thank you!" **

"**You're quite welcome." He smiled at me. "After what you did for the Tribe, you're welcome any time you'd like." **

"**Thank you," Lionblaze said, dipping his head as well.**

"**So, you're looking for Squirrelflight?" Stoneteller asked us. Brook nodded, but Stoneteller kept his eyes on Lionblaze and I.**

"**Yes, Stoneteller, we are," I replied, nodding once. "Would you have any idea where she is at the time? We have to talk to her… it's pretty urgent."**

**Stoneteller stretched and then looked thoughtful. "I think she went hunting with Stormfur a little while ago."**

**I looked over at Brook; Stormfur was her mate. She looked hurt by the fact that Stormfur had gone hunting with **_**Squirrelflight**_** and not **_**her**_**. I felt bad for her, and part of me wanted to apologize and comfort her, but I stopped myself from obeying that part of me. Instead, I just thanked Stoneteller again and started to walk away, Lionblaze following behind me.**

**Brook quickly caught up. "I'll come with you to look for her," she meowed breathlessly. She seemed dejected, but at the same time, there was another emotion that I couldn't detect.**

"**Alright," I replied, smiling at her. She smiled back, and then we headed out of the cave.**

**We passed many Tribe cats along the way. They all seemed surprised to see Lionblaze and I here, but they accepted it and nodded welcomingly as we passed by. **

**Once we were outside, the cool air welcomed me and I breathed it in. It smelled sweet, like the mountains, and carried the scents of rabbits and eagles, and a lot of cats. I quickly identified Squirrelflight's scent, which was accompanied by Stormfur's scent.**

"**This way," Brook meowed, flicking her tail in the direction the scent was heading. I nodded, agreeing to what she said, and started following her. **

**Once again, my paws were no match for Brook's nimble paws that were accustomed to the mountains. My paws were accustomed to the forest, where there were no rocks and sudden dips in the ground; Lionblaze wasn't much better off. We were no match for Brook.**

**All of a sudden, Brook stopped.**

"**What?" I asked her. "Are they nearby, or something?"**

"**No." Brook shook her head and crouched down low to the ground, her brown tabby fur almost completely blending in with the terrain. "I smell some prey." **

"**Oh." I felt stupid for not knowing that. **

**I scented the air, and realized Brook was right; the scent of rabbit was strong in the air. I saw Brook stalking closer to a small, wind-stunted bush, and I thought I'd join her. **

**I crouched down low to the ground like the Tribe cat and started inching towards the bush. I felt my stomach churn with hunger. The mice I'd eaten at dawn felt like days and days ago; I was starving. Hopefully the rabbit would be big enough for the three of us. **

**Suddenly, Brook sprang, just as the rabbit shot out of the bush. She chased after it with her nimble paws, and all I could do was watch with a stunned expression on my face. **

**The rabbit was dead in Brook's jaws within seconds. She brought it over to where Lionblaze and I stood with wide eyes, looking confused. After setting it down on the ground, she said, "What?" **

"**Great catch," I babbled, amazed at her amazing hunting. Even **_**I**_** couldn't catch a rabbit that fast.**

"**Thank you." Brook smiled. She prodded it with a paw. "Want some?"**

"**Sure." I smiled back at her and bent my head, as did Lionblaze. We took a bite or two from it and then I gave it back to Brook, thanking her. She took a bite, and then gave the rest to us. **

**After a minute, the rabbit was gone, and we were back to looking for Squirrelflight and Stormfur. I could definitely tell that Brook was less than excited by the fact that her mate was hunting with Squirrelflight, but she didn't say anything about it. I still felt bad about it.**

"**They're close," I murmured all of a sudden, my pawpads tingling. Beside me, Lionblaze straightened himself and I felt a pang of adrenaline rush through my blood. Part of me couldn't wait to see Squirrelflight, another was dreading the moment when I saw her. **

"**Yes," Brook murmured back, looking around. "Stormfur?"**

"**Brook!" **

**Stormfur's head popped out from behind a boulder, and he smiled. "Hey… Brambleclaw?" There was a definite question in his voice, though he seemed glad to see me. **

**Seconds later, Squirrelflight popped out from behind the same boulder, her green eyes wide. "Brambleclaw!" **

**I felt my gaze harden when Squirrelflight appeared. I didn't know what to think, so I just said, "That's me." I nodded and smiled at Stormfur, and then glanced at Brook, and then at Squirrelflight.**

"**You're here," Squirrelflight breathed.**

"**Yeah," I sighed. I looked at my paws. "And… I need to talk to you." I padded over to the boulder, and Squirrelflight's eyes widened even more as I padded over. Lionblaze followed me.**

**I heard Brook's voice from behind me. "And **_**I**_** need to talk to **_**you**_**," Brook meowed to Stormfur, who walked over to his mate, looking confused. I felt my heart clench, though I didn't know why. **

***********

_**To Be Continued…**_

_***********_

**Well, I hope you liked this chapter. This one's longer than the last one, I think, and it's the fifth chapter! Yay. :D **

**Sorry if some things I wrote about the Tribe weren't right xD Some things will be changed from the books, because the last time we saw the Tribe was in Outcast, and this is based after Sunrise, a couple of books later. So if some things are different, don't die on me! **

**Ohh, the suspense. What are they going to talk about? What will be revealed?! **

**Review, review, review! Free cookies for reviewers! **


	6. Done

*****WARNING!*** **

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

Again, 9 reviews! Thank you all *so* much. It makes me feel so happy when I go to check my email and I see a bunch of reviews waiting to be read. :D *throws cookies*

//Gahh! The last chapter was uploading bold/italic/underlined, sorry D: I tried to change/edit that so that it would be normal, but Fanfiction didn't feel like cooperating.

**Mistysprings - **Don't worry, this isn't going to turn out to be a BramblexBrook, this is definitely a BramblexSquirrel fanfic, even if it doesn't seem that way right now. x3

Once again, sorry if I change the Tribe's personalities/ranks a little bit! I'll try my best to make the Tribe, well, Tribe-like.

Onto the story~!

* * *

"I still can't believe you're here!" Squirrelflight breathed, looking at me with wide, pale green eyes. We were standing behind the boulder she'd been hiding behind before. She was sitting, so was Lionblaze, and I was pacing.

"Yeah, we're here," I grunted, sighing. "But please… just explain. I don't want to be confused anymore about what happened."

I saw Squirrelflight look at her paws, her usually bright eyes darkening a shade. "Let me just say, before I explain, I didn't mean to hurt you."

There was a pause, in which I sat down and looked at her. When I saw her looking at her paws, looking guilty, reminded me of when she was an apprentice, always sneaking out of the camp onto patrols when she was supposed to be tending to the elders.

"Brambleclaw, just because they aren't our kits," Squirrelflight said, 'they' meaning Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather, "doesn't mean I was betraying you… you're still my mate, you know."

I felt a weight being lifted off of my chest, and I sat taller, feeling relieved. She continued on, not letting me get a word in.

"Leafpool came to me when her situation was at its worst, when her kits would be due in less than half a moon. She asked me if I could fake the birth, and if I could take care of her kits and dupe the Clan into thinking that they were mine. I couldn't say no; she's my sister, for StarClan's sake! I wasn't sure what to do, at first, but I had to say yes. I had to." Her voice was grim, and I saw Lionblaze stiffen.

"I considered telling you," Squirrelflight continued. "I really did. I would have, except Leafpool told me to not tell _anybody_ - not even you, and definitely not Firestar. She said if anybody found out, Firestar would easily find out, and something bad would happen."

"Something bad _did_ happen, just later than she expected," I meowed quietly.

Squirrelflight nodded, her green eyes grave. "Yes. When I confessed to Ashfur that they weren't my kits, and that he was going to announce it at the Gathering… I tried to tell Leafpool to run. But she wouldn't. I don't know why, but she refused to leave."

"And then Hollyleaf did the unthinkable, killing Ashfur out of cold blood like that." Squirrelflight shivered and closed her eyes. Upon opening them, she looked at Lionblaze. "What happened to Hollyleaf?"

It was Lionblaze's turn to shudder violently. I saw his whole body tremor against the rock, and he looked as if he'd been attacked by a patrol of ShadowClan cats. "She died."

I felt like I'd just been doused in cold water. "She's dead?!" I inhaled sharply, almost not believing it. The cat I'd believed was my daughter for so long was dead - I felt something inside of my shrivel up and fall away.

Squirrelflight blinked, shock showing plainly in her eyes. I could see that she felt the same way as I did. I could only imagine what Lionblaze was feeling; Hollyleaf was his blood kin. If I felt this way and Hollyleaf wasn't even related to me by blood.

"Yes." Lionblaze's voice was quiet and solemn.

Squirrelflight stood up and walked over to Lionblaze, and then sat down right next to him, giving him a lick on one of his ears. "I'm sorry, Lionblaze, I really am…" Her voice was the merest whisper.

I too walked forward and gave Lionblaze a lick on his other ear. "It must be terrible to lose a sibling. I only partially know what that feels like," I said, remembering the feeling of pain and terror I'd felt when Tawnypelt had left ThunderClan for ShadowClan. I remembered not knowing what to think, and wanting to go after her and bring her back. Bringing her back was possible, but I hadn't done it; Lionblaze had no chance of bringing his sister back whatsoever.

Lionblaze shook his feelings off and straightened himself. "I'm fine. I really am. She's what's caused all of this confusion and distrust. Not only between you two, but in the Clan. Things were starting to fall apart when I left."

"That can't be good." Squirrelflight withdrew, a sour look on her face, as if she had the taste of mouse bile stuck in her mouth.

"What was happening?" I asked Lionblaze, a flame of worry igniting in my belly.

"I wasn't there for much longer after you," Lionblaze meowed, "but things were getting bad. After Firestar announced Leafpool would be allowed to stay with the Clan, cats started protesting and getting mad. Cats were refusing to be treated by Jayfeather and Leafpool just because of what Leafpool did; they had no reason to defy Jayfeather, though." Lionblaze's expression went hard when he talked about his brother. "I feel so sorry for Jayfeather. He did nothing."

"That's terrible!" Squirrelflight hissed, sinking her claws into the soil.

"And that's not all," Lionblaze sighed. "A patrol from WindClan came around moonhigh. Onestar was there with Ashfoot and Barkface. They asked if what Hollyleaf said was true, and they asked what we were going to do…"

"Oh no." I shook my head and closed my eyes. "This is bad, if other Clans are coming and questioning Firestar. This is way, way bad."

"Yeah. And that's just how things were when I left," Lionblaze meowed. "So who knows what's going on right now?"

"Nobody was stealing prey or territory though, right?" I asked Lionblaze. If other Clans were invading the territory and stealing prey and territory just because they thought ThunderClan was facing a crisis, I'd march myself right back to ThunderClan and give them a piece of my mind.

"Not yet," Lionblaze reported. I sighed in relief and let myself relax.

We were all silent for a few moments, until Squirrelflight stood and said, "Let's head back to the Tribe's cave," she suggested.

"Okay," Lionblaze and I agreed, nodding. Lionblaze started walking away, and when he had disappeared onto the other side of the rock, Squirrelflight padded up to me and pressed herself close to me.

"I'm sorry," she meowed. "I really am. For all of the mess I caused." She gave me a lick on the ear. "I still love you."

I gave her a lick on the ear, like she had done for me. "Same here," I meowed quietly, smiling.

* * *

"Brook! I'm sorry! I really am!" Stormfur mewed, pawing at the ground. "I wish you would believe me, Brook…"

"No, Stormfur." Brook's voice was cold. "You've been acting strange ever since Squirrelflight came to the Tribe. You're always asking _her_ to go hunting with you, not me, and you're always spending time with _her_ and not me."

"There's an explanation for that," Stormfur meowed restlessly, standing up and pacing.

"Then let me hear it." Brook's voice was icy cold now, instead of just cold.

"Alright," Stormfur meowed. "I've been catching up with her. We used to be good friends when you and I first met. Ever since I met you Squirrelflight and I haven't really talked. We're just catching up, like old friends do when they first see each other after not seeing each other after a while." He felt stupid, having to explain the basic concept to Brook, who obviously wasn't in the mood to listen to anything he had to say on the topic.

"Ah, really. What about the time we spent with ThunderClan?" Brook growled, digging her claws into the ground. "It's unfair, how you're treating me, Stormfur. It's not fair."

"Now you're calling me unfair?" Stormfur hissed. "_I'll_ tell you what's unfair. How you're mad at me for spending time with a friend."

Brook didn't respond, so Stormfur just went on talking.

"We've been talking about what happened in the Clans when everybody found out that Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze weren't her kits, and that they were really Leafpool's kits." He flattened his ears to the top of his head. "I don't know why I have to explain this to you…!"

Brook hissed and cut Stormfur off. "It feels like you're leaving me for _her_!" she hissed, piercing the ground with her claws even more.

"That's not what's happening at all, Brook," Stormfur meowed back, infuriated by his mate's obstinacy.

Brook's only reply was a _hmmph_.

"You know what? I'm finished with this." Stormfur stood and hissed, lashing his tail. "I'm done."

Before Brook could do anything, Stormfur was marching away, leaving her stunned and helpless.

* * *

Squirrelflight was helping me make my temporary nest next to hers when Stormfur marched in, his eyes stormy and a furious frown on his face.

"What happened?" Squirrelflight asked, arranging a pile of feathers and moss onto my nest as I pressed down on some other feathers to make them lie flat. I looked up just in time to see Stormfur lash his tail and sit down.

"I'm done," he said simply, his voice a hiss.

"What?" Squirrelflight asked, pausing her work to look at the gray tom.

This puzzled me, too, so I stopped working and looked at my old friend. He looked angrier than I'd ever seen him, except for maybe after his sister's death, but that probably couldn't be counted because his anger came from sadness. Now, his anger was just… pure anger.

"Brook was being intolerable," Stormfur reported, clenching his teeth. "She's being ridiculous. I am simply done."

"Where is she?" I asked, not sure if Stormfur meant that he was done talking to her or if he was done with the relationship altogether.

"Where I left her, probably. She didn't look like she had any intentions of returning to the Tribe at the time. She'll probably come back soon, though, knowing her."

"Are you done with her for today, or… done with the relationship?" Squirrelflight asked slowly, her green eyes wide and looking shocked. I couldn't blame her; if Stormfur meant that he was done with the relationship, I'd be shocked, too.

"The relationship," Stormfur spat.

A bolt of shock went through my blood, like I'd been expecting. "What?!" I hissed, unsure of what to think. "It couldn't have been _that_ bad…!"

"Oh, it was," Stormfur sighed, shaking his head. "She's been terrible lately." He sighed again, looking at his paws, and then looked up. "But on a brighter note, you two seem happy together."

"Yes," Squirrelflight said. "We've made up. But I'm sorry about Brook, Stormfur, I really am."

"Don't be," Stormfur growled.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

_

* * *

_

**Yay! Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight are back together. I figured it was time to bring them back together and stop the misunderstandings. But as one relationship comes back together, one falls apart… I'm so evil, aren't I? But Brook will be playing a big part in the next few chapters, and it won't be concerning Stormfur, so keep reading ;)**

**This time around reviewers will get Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight plushies! **

**:D**


	7. Questionable

*****WARNING!*** **

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

Well, not as many reviews this time, but still, thank you to my awesome reviewers c:

Let me just say, I got a really, really good idea for something that's coming in the future of this fanfic. It's pretty epic, but it won't be in the next couple of chapters; but still, it's going to be in this fanfic. I think I know just the way to incorporate it!

I just realized that I haven't put a disclaimer in _any_ of my previous chapters. I feel pretty bad about that, and I'm definitely going to put one in this chapter.

I considered activating my Brook plan in this chapter, but I think it's just a bit too early. I think I'll activate it in the next chapter.

**Disclaimer**: If I owned Warriors, would I really be sitting around writing Fanfiction?

* * *

Squirrelflight was out hunting with Lionblaze and Flight of Startled Heron, Flight, so I settled for hunting with Brook instead. I remembered Flight from the last time we'd been to the mountains; she'd been a kit-mother back then, but her kits were now To-Bes, so she went back to her duty of being a Prey-Hunter.

As Brook and I were leaving the Tribe's cave, I couldn't determine whether she was heartbroken at Stormfur's rejection or happy. She couldn't seem to settle on one emotion, so I just didn't talk about it to her. I couldn't figure it out, and that frustrated me. I was usually okay at reading emotions, so not being able to figure them out was like having a thorn in my pelt.

I yawned and then snapped my jaws shut when I misplaced one of my paws onto an unstable rock. The rock fell into a dip in the ground and I stumbled the slightest bit; my balance was improving, though, after being with the Tribe for a day. It was still pretty bad, though, compared to the Tribe's balance.

"Are you alright, Brambleclaw?" Brook asked me, her voice heavy with her Tribe accent. Once again, the emotions in her voice were tangled and mixed, sort of like melted snow. Slushy and intermingling with each other.

"Yes, I'm fine," I huffed, regaining my balance quickly.

Brook, who was ahead by a couple of fox-lengths, turned around to look at me, her ears leaned back onto her head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." I rolled my eyes and quickly caught up to her, not liking how concerned she was. Couldn't she just accept a 'yes' for an answer, without pushing it and keep asking me? Why couldn't that happen?! What was so hard?

"Okay." Brook waited for me to catch up, and when I did, we continued walking. She kept her nose in the air for a few heartbeats, her eyes closed, obviously scenting the air for any traces of prey.

"Smell anything?" I asked.

"No." Brook opened her eyes, lowering her nose, and sighed. "Not yet, that is. We'll find something soon, don't worry." She cracked a smile at me and quickened her pace, waving her tail in the air, as if she was excited or extremely happy.

Like I said before, I didn't get what her problem was. Why was she acting so happy if she and Stormfur had just split up…?

I pushed the thought from my mind and decided to just enjoy a day of hunting with a friend. I focused on the path ahead of us while Brook concentrated on finding prey; it didn't work all that well, because we didn't find any prey.

As we were walking, I studied Brook carefully. I couldn't help but feel irked at how happy she was seeming, just a day after she and Stormfur had gone their separate ways. I couldn't help but wonder what was up.

Finally, curiosity got the better of me.

"Brook?"

"Yes, Brambleclaw?" Brook said, smiling and turning around to look at me with her amber eyes.

"Um… this may sound odd, but why are you so happy?" I hated myself for how awkward my question sounded.

"Why am I happy?" Brook asked, her voice confused. She stopped walking and sat down, curling her tail around her paws. "I don't get your question. Why are you questioning my happiness?"

"It's just…" I looked up and to both of my sides, trying to find the words.

"What?"

"It's just, strange… I guess that's what I mean to say." I sighed. "Look, you and Stormfur had a fight, and you ended your relationship. Why are you so happy, so soon after that happened? Shouldn't you be, like, heartbroken? That's how I'd feel."

"Oh. That." Brook looked at her paws with an absent expression.

"You don't seem very concerned by that," I said.

"Well, that's the thing." It was her turn to sigh. "That's the thing," she repeated. "I'm not very concerned by it."

"You aren't?" I asked, confused. I almost felt like recoiling; did she have no heart whatsoever? What was up with her?

"No." Brook was still looking at her paws; if I'd just said that, I would be feeling ashamed. But the brown tabby she-cat didn't look ashamed by her confession - at all.

"You don't?!"

"No." Brook looked up, her amber eyes cold. "Do I have to repeat myself, Brambleclaw?"

_I_ had to repeat _myself_ earlier, I thought to myself, staring at her. "Sorry," I meowed, "but it's just shocking to me."

Brook heaved a sigh and stood up. She turned around and started walking away, not waving her tail anymore. In fact, it was just the opposite; she was hanging it down to the ground, and it was dragging through the soil, leaving a little line behind her in between her pawsteps.

Not knowing what to do, I quickly caught up to her, twitching my whiskers with uncertainty. Why was she acting like this? Why was she upset that I was seeming shocked at her happiness? I had so many questions running through my mind, I thought my head was going to explode.

When she saw that I had caught up with her, she started walking faster.

Frustration clouded my mind temporarily. Brook could be so… _stubborn_.

"Hey. Wait up!" I called, trying to catch up again.

Brook just plowed forward, deaf to my calls. Annoyance sparked inside of me and I felt like turning around and leaving her, but I knew this was just some performance, and that she _wanted_ me to follow her. She-cats were strange like that. If she wanted me to follow her, why couldn't she just wait for me?

She finally slowed down and allowed me to catch up with her.

"Thanks," I meowed.

Brook just stared me down with her wide amber eyes and said, "I will never understand you."

_Nor I you, _I thought.

* * *

It was moonhigh, I guessed; the cave was dark all around me. My eyes were heavy with exhaustion and my limbs felt like wet wood. I didn't feel like getting up and being active any time soon, but something was preventing me from getting my much-needed rest.

I blinked my eyes open and darkness greeted them. I could hardly see a thing, except for two glowing eyes above me.

For a moment, I thought they belonged to Squirrelflight.

I thought they belonged to Squirrelflight… until I realized the eyes weren't glowing green, but they were glowing in an amber color that reminded me of only one certain cat.

"Brook?" I meowed groggily.

"Come with me."

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**Aha, sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I didn't really want to add much filler, so it was just short and to-the-point. **

**I also apologize, since it was kinda boring. But the ending was quite vital, as was Brook and Brambleclaw's conversation. Brook is really getting bratty, but oh well… I didn't plan that, but it's just sorta happening. 0.0 First she freaks out on Stormfur, and now it's Brambleclaw… poor Brambley. D; **

**IS BROOK KIDNAPPING OUR HERO?!**

**Find out in the epic next chapter xP **

**Please review! **

**Lots of reviews = Faster update!**


	8. Moonhigh

***WARNING!***

Spoilers for Sunrise inside.

***END WARNING!***

**Wow, everybody, thanks for another 8 reviews ;) I know I'm rehashing when I say that it makes me feel so great when I open my inbox and see it full of reviews, but it's the truth! Thank you to all of the nice reviews I got since I uploaded the last chapter. ^^ We're almost at 40; and also, just 11 more until 50! Shall we make 50 our goal for now? xD **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you for reviewing! **

**I got quite a few requests to update soon, so I hope this is soon enough. I've been in the mood to update lately, which gets the story moving pretty quickly, so this is nice. **

**I've got a pretty basic idea of how I want this chapter to turn out. It's pretty vital to the plot, so I hope this turns out well! It's going to move the plot along quite a bit, and I'm really excited. **

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter. **

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Warriors, sorry! D;

I know, you're all blown away. I actually remembered to put my disclaimer in here this time; what a shocker!

Onto the story. I promise I'll stop rambling now~!

* * *

I was shocked and scared as Brook led me away from the Tribe's cave. Shocked, scared… and also, I was curious. I couldn't help but be curious as to what was going to happen, however much the situation was scaring me.

Brook led me away, keeping her tail on my shoulder the whole time. I guessed that she was keeping it there so she would feel me trying to escape the moment it happened. I took another guess and figured it was a good idea to try and not escape.

When I'd seen Brook standing over me in the cave, my heart had nearly given out from shock. I didn't understand - why was she stealing me away? What was she going to say, or do? It had taken all of the courage I'd had to mumble her name… and then, in an icy voice, she'd told me to come with her. How unreal was this?

To tell the truth, I'd have to say very.

I'm usually not shocked or scared easily. But Brook gave me the fright of a lifetime back in the cave. I'd been through a lot in my life, like the journey, and the destruction of the forest - oh, how my heart ached when I thought of the forest - and then the whole Leafpool's kits thing. But Brook taking me away in the middle of the night? That was new.

As we walked away - or, well, as Brook walked away and I was led away - Brook didn't speak a single word, or make any gestures to me in any way. We had no contact with each other, unless you count Brook's tail making sure that I was still there as contact.

I was unsure of what to think as Brook led me up a hill and through some boulders. I couldn't help but start to panic when Brook led me through the area we'd been hunting in earlier, which was a far way's away from the cave. She had no intentions of stopping.

I could tell she had no intentions of stopping by the way she moved; she didn't slow her pace, and if she made any change to it, she sped it up. Her tail remained on my shoulder; more than anything, I just wanted to shake it off and run back to the Tribe and curl up in my nest.

Finally, after the panic really started to set in, Brook stopped.

"Sit," she meowed in a hard voice, but it wasn't hard with its earlier coldness. I quickly obliged, not wanting to find out what happened if I didn't do as she said.

After I'd sat down, Brook did the same. She angled her head backwards and stared up at the starry sky; I didn't feel like admiring the stars right then, so I just settled for glaring at the back of Brook's head, wondering what in StarClan's name was going on.

After a few heartbeats of Brook just staring up at the sky, I let out a silent hiss and then twitched my tail. "Brook," I said.

Brook took her time in looking over at me. When she finally did, she blinked her wide amber eyes, and then replied in a slow voice. She seemed to be stretching out the words, her voice lingering on the syllables of my name.

"Yes, Brambleclaw?"

I paused momentarily before answering, but when I did, my voice was a hiss. "What have you done, Brook? Why have you brought me here?"

Brook looked hurt at the tone of my voice, but I didn't care. For a split second, I felt bad for hissing at her, but the sane part of me won and told me that she deserved it.

"Because, Brambleclaw," she meowed slowly, "I have something to tell you."

_Oh, StarClan… great. Simply wonderful. Can I leave now?_

"What do you want to tell me?" I asked in a quiet voice, wanting to be anywhere but there. I'd rather be in a battle with ShadowClan than there with Brook; that's how intense my dislike for the moment was.

Thinking about ShadowClan and battles made me remember what Lionblaze had told Squirrelflight and I when she and I had made up; a patrol from WindClan had already come to ThunderClan inquiring about what Hollyleaf had said. Cats from ThunderClan were already rebelling against Firestar; I wondered what cats were thinking about where I'd gone.

What if they thought I was dead?

Had Firestar already picked out another deputy…? If so, who…? And was Firestar alright…? The thought of Firestar made me go hot and cold at once. What if cats had rebelled so far and killed him? No, no, no… ThunderClan wouldn't do that. ThunderClan would stay loyal to their leader… but if what Lionblaze told me was true about cats rebelling Firestar was true, ThunderClan _wasn't_ staying loyal to their leader.

Uh-oh.

Brook's voice was like a slap of cold water on my face, bringing me back to reality.

"I don't want to tell you."

Anger rose in my throat, tasting like mouse bile. I didn't know what to think. She'd told me she had something to tell me, and when I asked her what it was, she said she didn't want to tell me.

"What?" I meowed. "That doesn't make any sense. Just tell me… I'm tired."

Brook was looking at her paws, her brown tabby pelt glowing silver, illuminated by the moon. For a moment, her pelt reminded me of Feathertail.

"Brambleclaw… I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?!" I snapped, at my breaking point. To tell the truth, I'd had way too many cats saying that they were sorry to me lately. I just wanted her to get on with it, or I'd march right back to the cave and fall right back asleep, ignoring her the whole way back. I was tired of her, the whole world. I just wanted to sleep.

"For falling in love with you."

_Great StarClan above! Tell me this is a dream…! _

I was stunned into silence. I couldn't find the words to speak, and I wanted to melt off of the face of the earth. Oh, gee, great. Brook was in love with me… just what I needed… I didn't know what to say.

First off, I'll say that I didn't feel the same way about her.

Second, I'll say that I didn't know how to voice my feelings… that we were just friends, and nothing more.

"Brook…" I started slowly, elongating her name to give me more time to think. She stared at me with her earnest amber eyes, and I still wanted to disappear.

Brook continued to stare at me, and I could see it in her eyes that she thought I loved her, too. But I didn't! Hadn't she seen Squirrelflight and I after we had gotten back together…? Didn't she know that Squirrelflight was my mate?!

"I…" I was still elongating my words. "No. I'm sorry. I don't feel that way." My words were hurried and rushed now; I was saying them as quickly as I could in hopes that she wouldn't hear me.

I did the first thing that came to mind; I turned around and sprinted away, leaving Brook just standing there.

It was a cowardly act. I usually wasn't a coward… but then, with _that_, you could say I was a coward. I couldn't think of anything else to do. I couldn't bear to break it to Brook and then watch her reaction; I wasn't that kind of cat.

The moment I arrived back at the cave, I checked to make sure Brook wasn't following. After making sure that she wasn't - she was probably still standing there, dumbfounded - I ran over to where Squirrelflight was sleeping. Lionblaze was nearby; I'd wake him up next.

"Squirrelflight!" I hissed through clenched teeth. "Wake up… it's urgent…"

I prodded her side with a paw when she didn't wake. She raised her head and blinked her eyes groggily, looking confused.

"Brambleclaw?" she asked. "What's happening?"

"We have to leave the Tribe," I meowed quietly. I hated myself for leaving just because of what Brook did, but I guess we weren't leaving just because of Brook; it was also because I _had_ to find out what was happening to ThunderClan. I _had_ to know if Firestar was alright, and if the Clan was alright… I'd never forgive myself if they weren't.

Squirrelflight sat up quickly and stared me down with piercing green eyes. "Alright… but I expect you to tell me why." Her voice was a quiet snarl, and I could tell she was upset by being woken up in the middle of the night, like I'd been when Brook had woken me up. She'd be better later.

"I promise." I nodded and tried my best to smile. "Let's wake up Lionblaze. And then, we're leaving."

All of a sudden, Squirrelflight's eyes widened. "I smell Brook. What was she doing over here?"

"She's part of the reason we're leaving," I panted, worry piercing my heart. Couldn't we get a move on and go faster? Why did Squirrelflight have to stop and notice the details? Why couldn't she do that later?

She started at me with shrewd eyes and then stood. "You promised to tell me; I'll hold you to that." With a flick of her tail, she walked over to Lionblaze to wake him up.

I couldn't shake the thoughts of ThunderClan and Firestar from my mind. I was ready to leave, but they were taking their sweet time in getting ready to go.

A few angst-filled moments later, Lionblaze was fully awake, and so was Squirrelflight. Adrenaline was pumping through my blood. I felt so bad for Brook, and how I'd totally run away from her… but it was for a good cause. I didn't want anything to happen that would cause Squirrelflight to doubt our relationship. I couldn't go through the heartbreak once more.

* * *

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Well… yeah. That was the Brook plan :D **

**So Brambleclaw's returning to the Clans with Squirrelflight and Lionblaze; so his mission to bring Squirrelflight back was a success! Hooray. ^^ But I have a huge plan for what's going to happen once they're back in ThunderClan. **

**It's going to be pretty cool… :D **

**I'm sorry Brambleclaw was such a… wimp about the whole Brook thing. I had to make him shocked enough to make him want to leave, though; he's only leaving to protect he and Squirrelflight's relationship. (: And, of course, to protect ThunderClan xD Who knows that lies in the future of ThunderClan now that all of the Clans know ThunderClan's secrets? **

**Please review! :D Let's try and make it to 50 reviews in the next couple of chapters; that would be so, so, so cool.**

**I'll try and update soon. ^^ **


	9. Returning

*****WARNING!*****

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

I feel so bad for not updating in so long… well, at least, it feels like it's been a long time. I've been really busy lately, I guess~! I feel so bad because I got people asking me to update soon in the reviews and I even wrote at the bottom that I'd try and update soon. D: I'll try and make this chapter awesome to make up for my terrible updating skills.

Thanks for the reviews! ^^ I feel so awesome when I get some great reviews. This time I got like, 7 or 8, right…? Which brings us to 47 reviews! Just 3 away from 50. I'll feel AMAZING when we reach 50 reviews; 50's a big accomplishment for a beginner like me. :D

This chapter's too early to start my pretty-big plan for the plot, but it's not just filler; it's pretty important. You probably won't ever see filler coming from me. xD

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors! If I did, I'd bring Cinderpelt and Yellowfang back to life. **

Once again, I remembered the disclaimer. ^^

* * *

Once we were a good way's away from the Tribe, I finally let myself, Squirrelflight, and Lionblaze stop running. We'd been running ever since we left - I wanted to get as far away from the Tribe as I could, as fast as I could.

We were still in the Tribe's territory, so I didn't let my guard completely down. That would be stupid and foolish of me, coming this far only to let myself be tricked into some trap. There could be traps anywhere, or Brook could suddenly appear… the thought made me shiver.

It seemed like I couldn't shake the tabby she-cat from my mind.

Every thought led to thoughts of Brook; I didn't know what to think. She loved me? Thinking back on it, it wasn't too hard to believe. Ever since I'd arrived in the mountains looking for Squirrelflight, she _had_ seemed unnaturally nice to me… too nice for her to feel like I was just a friend.

My aching throat screamed for something to drink. When I looked at Lionblaze and Squirrelflight, I could only imagine how thirsty and tired they must've been. They hadn't been awake as long as I had been, and they didn't have the aid of adrenaline to keep them running. They must have been exhausted… at the sound of running water, my ears pricked.

"Water." My voice was hoarse.

"Thank StarClan!" Squirrelflight whispered, relief showing in her bright green eyes.

I nodded, while Lionblaze looked around. "I can hear it," he said, "but I can't see it. Where is it?"

"I'm not sure," I meowed back. "Let's try and find it. We could use something to drink; I can tell that you two are tired."

"You'd be right," Squirrelflight sighed, giving me a sharp glance. "And you _still_ haven't told me why we're leaving; I think Lionblaze and I deserve to know the reason why."

I winced and looked down at my paws. I was pretty much cornered; if Squirrelflight was demanding the answer, it wouldn't be long before I cracked and told her. I decided to take the easy way out of the situation and just tell her, however much I didn't want to tell her.

"Fine. I'll tell you."

Squirrelflight visibly perked up, and that made me a little bit happier. She'd probably be moody after I told her what happened, though… the happiness wouldn't last too long.

"Brook… well, you know how you scented her over where we were sleeping?"

Lionblaze stopped looking for water to listen to what I had to say. Squirrelflight nodded as an answer, her green eyes curious.

I took a deep breath and tried to get through it as fast as I could.

"Well… Brook came over at moonhigh and told me she had something to tell me. I asked her what she had to say and she said to follow her… so I did. She led me away from the cave until we were pretty far away, and then… she told me she loved me."

I heard a sharp inhale from Lionblaze, and I could tell that he was shocked. I looked to Squirrelflight, expecting to see horror in her eyes, but instead, she was emotionless; she wasn't the least bit shocked.

"You're not surprised?" I asked her, confused.

"No." Squirrelflight shook her head.

"What…?" I asked, trying to understand. Had she known that Brook loved me?

"I knew that Brook loved you," Squirrelflight said simply. That answered my question; looks like I didn't have to ask. "She didn't tell me that; I could just… I could guess, from the way she looked at you and was always trying to hunt with you."

Lionblaze shook his head. "I couldn't tell."

"Neither could I, Lionblaze," I meowed, shivering. "It was really surprising. Anyways, I didn't want to put my relationship with you in jeopardy, Squirrelflight." It felt strange to say something like that to Squirrelflight when we were around Lionblaze, but it was something that had to be said.

Squirrelflight smiled slightly. "That's nice to know," she mewed in a soft voice.

Lionblaze looked at his paws, obviously embarrassed to have witnessed that. "Umm, let's look for some water and then get going, okay?"

"Sounds good to me." I stood up and stretched, then started walking around. I could really go for some water; my throat felt like it was coated with sand.

Just a few heartbeats later, I heard Lionblaze yell that he'd found water. _Thank StarClan!_ I thought to myself, relieved. Not caring if I made a lot of noise or not, I ran over to where Lionblaze's voice was coming from until I reached him. The golden tabby was grinning and pointing with his tail to the water, which turned out to be a small, bubbling creek.

Thanking StarClan again, I started to greedily lap the water up as Squirrelflight ran over and started to drink as well. Lionblaze joined Squirrelflight and I in enjoying the water.

The water tasted better than the fattest, juiciest mouse I'd ever eaten. After I lifted my head, water dripping from my muzzle, I felt completely refreshed.

We rested for a few minutes by the creek; Lionblaze hunted and caught a hare, even though it was late into the night. After feasting on the hare and regaining some of our energy, we set off again, headed towards the Clans.

* * *

I couldn't wait to get back to ThunderClan. I couldn't help but worry about the wellbeing of the Clan; what if the Clans were at war because of what had happened? I certainly hoped not. For the millionth time, I wondered if Firestar was okay, and if ThunderClan was rebelling or not.

My questions would soon be answered.

* * *

Around sunhigh the next day, I spotted the copse of trees where I'd sheltered when coming to the mountains, and where Lionblaze had caught up to me.

We were close!

Relief rushed over me like water.

"We're almost there, aren't we?" Lionblaze asked all of a sudden, obviously recognizing the small patch of trees and bushes as well.

"Yeah, we are." I smiled at the younger cat, feeling my heart start to beat faster. "We'll stop to hunt up in those trees. That's where you caught up with me."

Lionblaze waved his tail and nodded. "I thought I recognized this place."

Squirrelflight yawned and stopped to stretch; Lionblaze and I stopped and waited for her to start walking again. "Good thing we're almost to ThunderClan. I don't think I can take much more of this traveling, you know!"

I padded closer to her and gave her a lick on the cheek. "What ever happened to the adventurous little apprentice that just _had_ to tag along to the Sun-Drown place?" I asked, finding it hard to believe the change she had undergone from the time when she was an apprentice to now. "I remember a cat that couldn't be left at the camp and always had to be out exploring."

Squirrelflight took a playful swipe at me with one of her forepaws. "That cat's still in me somewhere, don't worry. I just think that I'm ready to see the Clan again."

"Don't worry. I feel the same way." I dodged another playful swipe and then ran up ahead to walk with Lionblaze. Squirrelflight ran up too, obviously not wanting to be left behind.

"Silly Brambleclaw," Squirrelflight purred. "You can't leave me behind."

"I know, Squirrelflight," I purred back; this time I took a swipe at her with my paw before she could swipe at me.

Squirrelflight nimbly dodged, and then looked over at the trees we were quickly approaching. "I could go for something to eat… good thing we're going to stop and hunt."

"Lots of 'good things', huh?" I asked, noting how she said both being near ThunderClan and hunting were good things.

"Sure." Squirrelflight shook her head playfully and then sprinted ahead; Lionblaze was already at the trees.

The scent of the trees welcomed me and made me smile. The warm sun felt wonderful on my pelt as I padded into the trees.

Lionblaze lifted his nose into the air. "Mmm, there's so much prey around. Thank StarClan!"

I scented the air and was surprised to smell squirrels, mice, and an assortment of different birds. I could easily identify thrushes and sparrows, but other than that, the scents became muddled.

A few minutes later, Lionblaze had caught two mice, I had caught a squirrel, and Squirrelflight had caught a mouse.

I tucked into my squirrel and dispatched it quickly, feeling better once I had something in my stomach.

"Well, should we get going again?" Squirrelflight asked, once she'd finished her mouse and Lionblaze had finished his mice.

"That's what we should do," I meowed, standing up and stretching. Personally, I felt like taking a nap after eating, but we had to get back to ThunderClan, whether I liked it or not.

Lionblaze licked his chops and stood as well, while Squirrelflight stretched. "Let's get going. Who knows what's happening to the Clans?"

* * *

Fear coursed through my blood.

We were standing right outside the ThunderClan camp; somehow, I felt reluctant to enter.

Lionblaze and Squirrelflight stood on either side of me. Squirrelflight's fur was pressed into mine and her ears were bent back on her head. She was obviously just as reluctant as I was. I didn't know why we were reluctant, but we were. It couldn't have been a good sign.

All of a sudden, a voice hissed out of the shadows.

"Who's there?" I immediately recognized the voice as Spiderleg; I was instantly calmed by the sound of a ThunderClan cat's voice. I was worried that the camp would be full of enemy cats who had taken over or something. I could stop worrying now.

"It's me, Brambleclaw - I've got Squirrelflight and Lionblaze with me."

Spiderleg melted out of the bushes a few fox-lengths away, scaring me. "Brambleclaw? Thank StarClan!" The relief was obvious in his voice. He ran over, purring and smiling at us. "Firestar was really starting to worry about you three, you know… we weren't sure where you'd gone…!"

"We're back," I meowed simply, not sure what to say.

"Come with me, you three. I'll go tell Firestar that you're back."

And with that, Spiderleg ran into the camp, leaving us behind.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**Again, I'm really sorry that this is so late. The chapter's not all that exciting, but it moves the story on a little bit. ^^ **

**The chapter kind of moved a bit too fast in my opinion. If you noticed, the whole chapter kind of died right around where they were hunting in the trees; that's when my inspiration died and I got interested in DeviantArt. :P **

**I'll try and update this soon. ^^; We're almost to 50 reviews! Can you believe that? I can hardly believe it myself. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D **

**Please review! Don't forget to click that little green button. ;) **


	10. Plans

*****WARNING!*****

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

For the bazillionth time, thanks for the reviews, everybody! :D

The last chapter was pretty boring and awesome-less, so I'll try and make up for that with an epically-awesome chapter. All of your questions will be answered~!

Hopefully they will be, at least! ^^

I'm feeling _really_ great right now, I hope the chapter reflects that. :D

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Warriors, sorry!

* * *

Firestar led Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, Spiderleg and I into the camp. My pelt was buzzing with joy to be reunited with the Clan.

_Thank StarClan! _I thought as I padded into the camp behind Firestar. Shortly after Spiderleg had run back into the camp, he'd brought Firestar out, who was now leading us into the camp. I was so relieved to come back to ThunderClan; the whole way back to the territory, I'd been acting like a kit, fretting over the Clan.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you three back," Firestar was saying as we walked into the camp. Once we were inside, he turned to look at us, warmth in his green eyes.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to be back," I meowed, dipping my head. I looked around the camp, my heart glowing with relief to see that everybody was alright.

While looking around, soaking in the moment, I heard Lionblaze ask what had been going on while we'd been gone.

"Well, a patrol from WindClan came to ask if what Hollyleaf had said was true." I looked up at the sound of Firestar's voice; his voice was flat, and his green eyes were dull and lifeless. "I had no choice but to tell them that it was true. What else could I say?"

"You could've lied," Squirrelflight said, her voice equally flat and dry. I shot her a glance, wondering why she was being so hot-tempered. I figured it must've been the fact that she was deeply involved with what had been exposed at the Gathering, and she didn't want the other Clans knowing that she'd been involved with the treachery.

"A true Warrior doesn't need to lie," Spiderleg shot, lifting his head into the air.

Lionblaze glared at Spiderleg while Firestar continued on, ignoring Spiderleg's jibe aimed at his daughter.

"Anyways, Onestar came and asked that." Firestar closed his eyes. "It's only a matter of time before ShadowClan does the same thing. Patrols have scented them closer and closer to the border."

"Have they taken any of our territory yet?" I growled, feeling my claws slide into the ground. If ShadowClan even _tried_ to claim a piece of our land, it'd be their deaths.

"Not yet." I was surprised to hear a new voice; I looked over to the source and saw Leafpool padding forward, her slender frame looking thinner than ever. Was she eating, or was the Clan refusing to let her eat after what she'd done? I certainly hoped not.

"Leafpool," Firestar mewed. I saw Squirrelflight's gaze sharpen, while Lionblaze stiffened at the sight of his mother. I still had trouble remembering that Leafpool was his mother, and that I wasn't his father.

I looked to Spiderleg to see his reaction to the Medicine Cat's sudden appearance. His eyes were narrowed; so maybe the Clan was in less than a good mood with Leafpool, after all…?

"Hello, Firestar. Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw." She looked at us, nodding as she said our names. There wasn't even a faint spark of excitement to see us returned from the mountains. When she looked at Lionblaze, she tensed slightly.

_Poor Lionblaze_, I thought. It wasn't _his_ fault that he was Half-Clan. I wondered how the Clan was treating Hollyleaf and Jayfeather.

Spiderleg rolled his eyes at Leafpool. "I think it's time for me to go hunting, Firestar."

"Go ahead," Firestar meowed, turning and nodding to the black and brown warrior. Spiderleg nodded, too, and then exited the camp; I stared after the departing warrior, wanting him to come back just so I could roll my eyes at him like he'd rolled his at Leafpool.

I looked at Squirrelflight, only to see that she was still staring at Leafpool with less-than-warm eyes. I wondered what was up with her, as well; why was everybody being so mean to Leafpool? I knew that it was wrong that she'd broken the Warrior code, but that was in the past.

All of a sudden, it hit me. Why hadn't Firestar asked where we'd been? Did he already know?

"Why haven't you asked us where we were, Firestar?" I asked, looking to the flame-furred leader. He looked from his daughter Leafpool to me.

"I knew where you were," Firestar stated simply, looking confused.

"You did?" I asked, dumbfounded. Firestar couldn't possibly know; it's not like he sent a spy after me! Or, did he…?

"Yes." Firestar nodded. "Leafpool told me, of course."

I immediately looked to Leafpool, a fire in my belly. I remembered specifically asking her not to tell anybody where I was going before I left - but she'd gone and told her father. Of course; looks like I could never trust Leafpool again.

Lionblaze was looking at Leafpool as well, and so was Squirrelflight. Leafpool shifted her paws under our gazes, her amber eyes looking only a smidge guilty. I felt like attacking her, but I held myself back. Not only would it have been against StarClan's will to attack Leafpool, it would've been pretty bad to attack her in front of her father.

Instead of growling at Leafpool or attacking her, I simply meowed a reply to Firestar. "Oh… alright."

I wrenched my eyes from Leafpool, feeling the anger die as I looked away. Squirrelflight and Lionblaze continued to glare at her as Firestar flicked his tail.

"Brambleclaw, may I talk to you in my den?"

I was taken by surprise; I hadn't seen that coming. Hiding my surprise, I nodded. "Of course, Firestar, of course."

"Alright, then." Firestar nodded approvingly and then looked to his two daughters and grandson. "Well, I'll be with Brambleclaw in my den."

And with that, he started to pad away.

I ran after him, quickly catching up. I didn't ask what we were going to talk about; I would save that for when we were inside of his den where nobody else could hear.

Once we had climbed up the Highledge and were inside his den, I sat down as he instructed me to as he sat down in his mossy nest, curling his forepaws around his chest. He sat silently and stared at me, his green eyes piercing. I resisted the urge to look away and break his gaze.

"Um… did you tell anybody else where Squirrelflight, Lionblaze and I were?" I asked suddenly, trying to shatter the silence.

"No." Firestar shook his head slowly after taking a few moments to think. "No. Only Leafpool and I know; not even Sandstorm knows."

"That's… good," I replied, trying to smile. However hard I tried, the smile just wouldn't surface.

"Brambleclaw." Firestar's voice was hard. "Look; back there, what I said about ShadowClan not taking any of our territory yet…"

Fear lodged in my throat like a stubborn piece of fresh-kill. "You weren't lying, were you? Have they invaded?"

"Well, they haven't… _invaded_, but they've taken a slice of the territory." Firestar's green eyes resembled chips of ice.

My stomach churned violently. "That's terrible! How does the Clan not know?"

"When I heard reports of ShadowClan moving their scent markers closer to our territory, I went and investigated myself." His voice was even more grim than before. "Turns out they'd taken a piece of our territory. Near the lake."

"You haven't told the Clan, have you?" I asked. Anger made my voice sharp and my eyes narrowed. I felt terrible; maybe if I'd been there to help, ShadowClan wouldn't have taken some of our territory.

"No, I haven't." Firestar looked at his paws, lashing his tail. The anger in his eyes made him look awfully out of place curled up in his nest. He looked more like a cat on the battlefield facing an opponent.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, clawing at the ground, even though my claws weren't much against the stone.

"I plan to attack ShadowClan."

The news made my ears twitch and my claws itch. I imagined myself fighting against ShadowClan, raking at Blackstar's ears for what he'd done to ThunderClan. I was half afraid, though; would I have to fight against my own sister?

Firestar apparently didn't see the hesitation in my eyes when I thought of Tawnypelt. "I was thinking we should attack at dawn tomorrow. I didn't want to attack until you'd returned. The Clan is weaker without you, Brambleclaw."

Firestar's praise warmed my pelt and I lifted my head, proud of myself for earning Firestar's respect. "Thank you," I meowed back. "Yes… I agree that we should attack in the morning. ShadowClan won't know what hit them."

There was more confidence in my words than my heart.

* * *

I padded out of Firestar's den, leaving the aging ginger cat to rest in his den. I scrambled down the Highledge, my fur bristling. I couldn't let anybody know that I was hesitant to attack ShadowClan, especially after they'd taken some of our territory. I couldn't let the Clan know that I had a weak spot.

The scene that greeted my eyes almost made me want to crawl back up the Highledge and shelter in Firestar's den until the storm blew over.

Sandstorm was in the middle of the clearing, lashing out at her daughter verbally. I could see the guilt and angst in Squirrelflight's eyes as her mother clawed at the ground, lashing her tail.

Instead of obeying my instincts and sheltering somewhere else, I walked towards the two quarreling she-cats. I'm not sure that 'quarreling' even covered what was happening in front of me. Squirrelflight would try and stick up for herself every once and a while, but Sandstorm would just screech something else and Squirrelflight would shrink to the ground.

I ran over, lashing my tail. "What's happening here?"

Sandstorm turned to me, the fire in her pale green eyes dying when she saw me. "Brambleclaw… I'm sorry…" I was surprised how quickly the senior warrior submitted.

"Tell me what's happening and then I'll _think_ about accepting your apology." I was also surprised at how steely my voice was when dealing with the senior warrior, who also happened to be the leader's mate.

"Squirrelflight left without any sign of where she'd gone, and I was worried _sick_!" Sandstorm sighed, looking over at her ginger-furred daughter. "I was just so worried for her! She could've told me where she'd gone! And all this happened so soon after… Leafpool…" Anguish shone clearly in her eyes.

I looked to Squirrelflight, and then back at Sandstorm. "Could you express your feelings in a more… _calm, quiet_ way?"

Some of the she-cats fieriness returned. "I could, but why should I?"

"Because I'm the deputy, that's why," I told her, humor blanketing my voice. "And also… I don't know if you noticed, but that's your daughter and my mate that you're yelling at."

With that, I padded away, flicking my tail to dismiss the conversation.

I'm glad to say that Sandstorm's screams died down after that.

I made a beeline for the fresh-kill pile and devoured a vole that sat on top of it. After finishing the piece of prey, I headed for the Warriors' den, looking forward to curling up in my nest for a good night's sleep…

…before attacking my sister's Clan.

* * *

_To Be Continued..._

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* * *

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**I thought this chapter went pretty smoothly. :D I'm proud of our Brambleh for calming Sandstorm down and saving Squirrelflight; let's give him a round of applause! XD**

**I hope you all liked this chapter. If it's a little late, I'm sorry… I've been kinda busy. Doing nothing. 0.0 **

**See you next time with the next epic installment…! **

**REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW~ **


	11. Fears

*****WARNING!*****

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

I know I should have mentioned this in the last update, but I went on a vacation to the mountains for 4 days - that's why I didn't update. :P

Thank you SO much for the reviews - I think I got 18! That's a record; it breaks the record of 9 by… 9! Ha. Anyways, thank youthankyouthankyou! I luffs you all. 3

I'm really excited to write this chapter: the battle! I've got some good music to listen to that really reflects what I'm writing, and I've got a lot of time. :D Prepare yourself for the epic battle…! Who will die?! Who will live?!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Warriors. :O

Again, I remembered the disclaimer. I'm so proud. ^^

* * *

I was running through the forest, my Clan alongside me. Right beside me ran Squirrelflight, her green eyes blazing with the fire of battle. Firestar ran up ahead, his mate Sandstorm and a couple of other senior Warriors running behind him in a V-formation.

Inside of my head, a battle raged, not unlike the one that we'd soon be experiencing. I didn't want to go into battle with ShadowClan, yet at the same time I _did_ - I didn't want to fight my sister, but I wanted to fight the Clan that took some of my Clan's territory.

I panted. The Clan was speeding up as we crossed into ShadowClan's territory.

The pines that grew in ShadowClan's territory were casting huge shadows all around me. Fear gnawed at my heart, and I desperately wanted to do something drastic like turning around…

All of a sudden, out of the shadows sprang Blackstar, at his side Russetfur and… Tawnypelt! My heart skipped a beat and I looked at my paws, wishing that Tawnypelt hadn't appeared. Why couldn't she have stayed at the camp? And why were there only three cats? This was too easy, yet too hard!

Blackstar's eyes flashed when he saw the ThunderClan invasion. He started lashing his tail as he snarled, "What's this?"

Firestar lowered his head to the ground, his fiery pelt bristling. "An attack, Blackstar, what else would it be? This is for taking our land!"

Before I could do anything, Firestar sprang at Blackstar, his claws outstretched. Blackstar acted immediately and ducked, moving quickly to the side. Firestar landed and lashed out at Blackstar with a hiss. Blackstar did the same and slashed his claws against Firestar's face on the cheek. Blood flew from Blackstar's claws and splashed on the ground. Firestar's blood.

Anger bubbled up inside of me and I started to run forward. The rest of the Clan was frozen, as if too shocked to react.

All of a sudden, as I ran towards Firestar to help, there was a flash of ginger, and then another flash, this time white, brown, and ginger. I whirled around, my emotions spiraling.

Squirrelflight had leapt onto Tawnypelt, and was now attacking my sister with all of her might.

"_No!_" I snarled, clawing at the ground. I was torn - who should I help? Firestar, my leader, or Tawnypelt, my kin?

Everything exploded in a flash of inky darkness.

* * *

I awoke, gulping icy-cold air. I was sweating furious, and my nest was clawed to shreds. I looked up to see Cloudtail, his wide blue eyes confused.

"Brambleclaw?" he prompted.

"Cloudtail…" I panted, feeling weak. My legs felt like they were made of wet wood. "What is it?"

"It's time to attack ShadowClan," Cloudtail meowed softly, his blue eyes still confused. "Firestar just announced it to the Clan. You slept right through it."

"I did?" I meowed. I'd slept through it… which means I'd been dreaming. The attack wasn't real, and Firestar _and_ Tawnypelt were unharmed. A wave of relief hit me and I sighed contentedly.

Until I realized that we were going to attack ShadowClan in just a short while.

"Yes." The sound of Cloudtail's voice brought me back to reality. "You did. But Firestar sent me to wake you up. And yes, you _have_ to come with us."

"I never said I wasn't going to," I hissed short-temperedly. "Of course I'm going to come with you. I'm the deputy, aren't I?"

Cloudtail rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm sorry, oh-great deputy." He padded out of the den after that, leaving me alone.

I looked around, still panting slightly from the terrifying dream. The den was empty, except for me; the scents of the other Warriors clung to their nests, though Cloudtail's was the strongest. I nosed Squirrelflight's nest and figured that she'd been out of her nest for a while.

After one last glance around, I stood, shaking scraps of moss from my pelt.

As I walked out of the Warrior's Den, my fur burned self-consciously. I'd slept through a Clan meeting, like a lazy apprentice would sleep through the Dawn Patrol. I quickly stalked over to the fresh-kill pile, chose a mouse off of the top, and sat under the shade of the Highledge to eat it.

As I ate, I looked around for Firestar; among the cats milling around the clearing, talking uneasily and eating prey, I couldn't pick out his bright ginger pelt.

I finished off my mouse quickly and then looked up on the Highledge; Firestar wasn't there, so I inferred he must've been in his den.

I speedily scaled the rocks that led up to the Highledge and then stood outside of Firestar's den, calling his name quietly.

"Brambleclaw? Come in."

Glad to have found Firestar, I padded inside, my fur burning. Firestar was sitting in his nest, sharing tongues with Sandstorm.

"Brambleclaw. What is it?" Firestar prompted, sitting up.

Sandstorm glared at me with sharp green eyes, obviously put out by how I'd made her stop yelling at Squirrelflight the day before. I stared back for a few moments, and then turned to look at Firestar, my fur burning again. I hoped he hadn't seen me glaring at Sandstorm.

"I'm sorry that I slept through the Clan meeting," I blurted, not knowing what to say. I know it must've sounded pretty stupid, because Sandstorm rolled her eyes, amused. I looked at my paws. Just like Sandstorm to embarrass me in front of Firestar.

Firestar nodded sagely, his green eyes calm, as if he weren't going off to fight a battle in a while. "It's fine, Brambleclaw. I expected you needed your rest, after traveling from the mountains."

"But Squirrelflight and Lionblaze didn't sleep through it," I protested, twitching my whiskers adamantly.

"Brambleclaw! It's fine." Firestar's eyes glimmered with amusement. "But I'm pretty sure that's not all you came for. What do you have to say?"

"When are we going to leave for the, er, battle?" I asked. Fear made me want to squirm like a little kit, but I'm sure if I squirmed like a little kit in front of the leader, it'd be the end of my deputyship. I decided against succumbing to my fear.

Firestar stood, and after he did, Sandstorm did. He shook scraps of moss from his pelt, his green eyes glowing. "I think we should be leaving now."

More fear came and made me feel sick. I didn't feel this scared of other battles, so why was I afraid now? A good Warrior doesn't fear fighting other Clans, even if his sister happened to belong to an enemy Clan. I winced and looked at my paws.

"Is that alright with you?" Firestar asked. He'd obviously seen me wince. I cursed myself, wishing to StarClan that I could go back in time and not wince.

"Yes, yes, it is." I nodded and looked from Firestar to Sandstorm. Sandstorm was flexing her claws, obviously ready for battle. If only I could be like that! If only Tawnypelt hadn't left ThunderClan…!

"Alright, then." Firestar nodded, ferocity in his eyes. "I'll announce it to the Clan now."

I exited his den as Firestar sprang forward to the Highledge. Sandstorm accompanied me down, and when we were at the bottom, we joined the Clan in gathering beneath the Highledge to listen to what Firestar said. I noticed that the whole Clan was looking ready for a brawl; cats were flexing their claws, lashing their tails, and nodding excitedly.

All of a sudden, Squirrelflight was beside me. I recoiled with shock when she suddenly appeared next to me. "Where did _you_ come from?!" I hissed, surprised.

"Leafpool's den," Squirrelflight meowed quietly, not wanting to speak over Firestar. "Why?"

I shook my head in reply, trying to focus on what Firestar was saying about the battle. Why had Squirrelflight been in with Leafpool? Was she sick? I looked to my mate momentarily, confused, but then looked up at Firestar again.

"Let's go!" Firestar finished. I shook my head; that's all I'd heard of the whole speech.

Firestar leapt down from the Highledge. I surveyed the line of cats who'd been chosen to go into battle with ShadowClan.

Sandstorm, Thornclaw, Graystripe, Birchfall, Cinderheart, Poppyfrost, Berrynose, Squirrelflight, and, of course, me. I couldn't help but notice how Hollyleaf and Lionblaze had been chosen to stay behind.

I took my place in the line near the back, with Squirrelflight and Berrynose. Berrynose's cream pelt was bristling; I padded closer to him and let out a reassuring purr. "It'll be alright, Berrynose," I told my former apprentice, feeling a rush of the same affection a mentor feels for their apprentice. He acted all big and strong, but really, he had fears just like the rest of us.

Just like me.

* * *

We were deep in ShadowClan territory, and Firestar showed no intentions of stopping. Every pawstep led me closer to attacking my sister's Clan. The tall pine trees blanketed the land with shadows and darkness, just like they had in my dream. Everything seemed so surreal, even more so than my dream had felt.

Up ahead, I could see the thicket of brambles and thorns that protected the dip in the ground that ShadowClan made their home in. Firestar raised his tail, a signal to stop, and the patrol halted behind him.

We spread out in a group in front of Firestar, so that we weren't in a straight line anymore. Firestar turned around and addressed us quietly.

"We'll go into the camp - don't harm the elders, queens, or kits."

After a moment of silence passed, Firestar turned around and started to enter the camp; we all followed him. Tension hung in the air like clouds of fog. My heart hammered non-stop in my chest. Squirrelflight pressed against my side to reassure me, though it didn't work all that much.

From up ahead, there was a screech from Firestar, and ShadowClan cats nearly exploded from their dens. This came as a surprise to me; how could they react so quickly?

The battle started quickly. I ran forward, snarling a battle cry. I knocked into a ginger tom who I recognized as Rowanclaw; I lashed out at him with my claws and felt a searing pain in my shoulder. Blood dribbled from my scratch as I snarled and bit down on Rowanclaw's ear.

The ShadowClan camp was teeming with individual battles and snarls. Blood spattered the ground. As Rowanclaw shrank away, yowling from the pain in his ear, I leapt away and landed near a tortoiseshell she-cat. My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly realized that it wasn't Tawnypelt. This was Ivytail; I'd seen her at the Gatherings. From what I knew of her, she was bad-tempered and a fierce, strong warrior.

Ivytail saw me and she snarled, widening her eyes. She leapt onto me and I ducked, trying to avoid a blow. Her paw slammed into my cheek and I retaliated, clawing at her shoulder. She snarled and attacked me once again, this time managing to bite the end of my tail. I swung around, but she still clung onto my tail; pain made me wince. I let out a yowl and clenched my teeth, trying to get her off.

All of a sudden, Ivytail let go of my tail, and a rush of relief hit me. Squirrelflight appeared in place of Ivytail, her eyes glimmering. She started clawing at Ivytail, who started clawing back. Blood glistened on both of the cat's claws.

I didn't have much time to worry for my mate; I heard a yowl that made my blood go cold. I whirled around and searched the camp. When I didn't see what I was looking for, I bounded forward, shouldering past cats left and right.

Finally, I found what I was looking for.

Firestar was battling Blackstar, just like in my dream. Blackstar had the advantage of being on top of the ThunderClan leader; Firestar was defending, having no chance to try and attack. Blackstar was kicking at Firestar's belly, and Firestar took every blow with a yowl of pain. I ran forward, snarling furiously. All thoughts of Tawnypelt evaporated from my mind.

I slammed into Blackstar, causing him to fall to the ground. Firestar lay unmoving on the ground, his legs splayed out. Blackstar was standing, his white pelt bristling and his black paws coated in sticky, crimson blood. I snarled again and leapt onto the ShadowClan leader, not caring if he had multiple lives and I only had one. This was for Firestar.

I clawed at Blackstar's throat, but he managed to duck and avoid my blows. He grabbed one of my hindpaws with his claws and a searing pain went through my leg. I growled and tried to bite his ear, like I'd bitten Rowanclaw's, but the leader was faster than Rowanclaw. He avoided my bite and was able to weave his way around me, slamming into me and pushing me to the ground.

I lay on the ground, a plan formulating in my mind. Blackstar started to hover over me, a maniacal light in his dark eyes.

Right when I was going to kick up at him with my hindpaws and knock him backwards, Blackstar was knocked to the ground by a different force; it was Firestar! The ginger tom was bleeding heavily from a scar stretching from one shoulder down to his chest, and a couple of spots on his shoulders and haunches. The light of battle was strong in Firestar's eyes. Surprise made me immobile on the ground for a few moments as I watched Firestar lean over Blackstar, snarling.

Firestar stood up straight, keeping a firm paw on Blackstar's chest. "Brambleclaw, go! I can take him alone." His voice was a snarl.

"But-"

"GO!" Firestar snarled, turning back to Blackstar, a vicious light in his eyes.

I turned to run away like Firestar had told me. I saw Birchfall and Cinderheart battling Toadfoot, while Sandstorm was fighting with Kinkfur. I looked around and saw Berrynose fighting Oakfur, who, being a senior warrior, was far more experienced. The cream tom was obviously losing to the ShadowClan warrior; I ran forward, ready to help my former apprentice.

I knocked Oakfur off of the cream warrior, snarling and cuffing him on the ear with my claws. Berrynose nodded to me as he sprinted off to fight someone else, leaving me to battle with Oakfur. I was bigger than the brown tom; this would be easy.

Oakfur sprang up and tried to get a hold on my neck. I snarled and ducked, but he managed to bite down on my shoulder. I snarled and shook the small tom off at the sound of Russetfur's voice.

"ShadowClan, retreat!"

The ShadowClan warriors melted away from the camp clearing and into their various dens. Only Russetfur and a few carcasses remained. This confused me; why Russetfur? Where was Blackstar?

I scanned the clearing and the carcasses. The answer leapt out at me; there was Blackstar's body, lifeless as a piece of prey. Blood spattered across his muzzle, which was frozen in a dying snarl. A lake of blood pooled around him.

Firestar and Russetfur stood in the middle of the camp, facing each other with cold eyes. Firestar spoke up first. "This attack was to teach you how ThunderClan treats cats who take our land," he snarled. "Put one paw on our land again, and it will be ShadowClan's downfall."

Russetfur dipped her head, her dark ginger fur spattered with blood. "We'll be the judge of that," she spat, lashing her tail. "Leave ShadowClan's territory… _now_."

Firestar nodded. "We will, but don't forget this day."

As ThunderClan filed out of the camp, I quickly scanned the carcasses, looking for Tawnypelt's body. I didn't see it; that was a good sign. Perhaps she had lived.

From what I saw, the fallen cats were Kinkfur, an apprentice named Scorchpaw, and, of course, Blackstar. I could see fearful eyes staring out from the dens, all trained on Blackstar's mutilated body.

I caught up with the rest of the ThunderClan patrol. My breath froze in my throat when I saw Thornclaw's lifeless body being carried by Sandstorm and Graystripe; grief welled up inside of me for the golden-brown tabby tom.

I looked to Firestar and examined the many wounds scattered across his body. I could only wonder how many lives he had left after this battle.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**I just had to kill Blackstar. **

**Sorry, Blackstar fans.**

**And sorry, Thornclaw fans. **

**Anyways, this is my longest chapter ever - it's around 3,000 words, give or take a few. I'm really proud of this chapter. :D I really hope you liked it, I worked quite hard on it. ^^ Even though the battle's a bit short, that's alright. Some important stuff happened in it, don't you think? **

**REVIEW TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! **

**PLEASE! **


	12. Aftermath

*****WARNING!*****

**Spoilers for Sunrise inside. **

*****END WARNING!*****

Can you believe it?

98 reviews?!

That's only 2 away from 100! I can't tell you guys how thankful I am. Only 12 chapters (including this one!) and we're already at 100 reviews. That's like, amazing. ^^ This fanfic would never have gotten this far without you awesome reviewers. Thank you so much. :D

Well, I don't have very much to say here, so… here goes the chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Warriors! x3

* * *

"Leafpool, seriously, I'm fine."

Leafpool looked at me, her amber eyes earnest and refusing to believe what I was saying. I suppressed a sigh; she'd been at this for the past couple of minutes. I'd survived the battle with only a few scratches, except for a deep gash in my shoulder. Leafpool simply wouldn't leave the gash alone.

"No, you're not, Brambleclaw," she said stiffly. "You're bleeding, and this cut's very deep. You need to be treated."

"Calm down. I'll be fine."

Leafpool glared at me as she started applying a bit of marigold to my wound. The herb made it sting, but I gritted my teeth and took the pain like a Warrior.

"There you go." Leafpool sighed and flicked a bit of marigold off of her chest fur. "See, that wasn't too bad. You can go now."

"Thanks, I guess." I looked at her, then twisted my head around to look at my shoulder. It hurt to twist my head back that far, but one good look at my shoulder told me that Leafpool wouldn't be letting me out on any patrols any time soon. I held back a frustrated grunt as I exited the Medicine Cat Den.

A wave of exhaustion swept over me. I padded quickly to the Warrior's Den, replaying the recent incidents in my head.

We'd only been back at camp for a while, but cats were going berserk over Thornclaw's death. They obviously hadn't expected anybody to die. Thornclaw's death, however, was nothing compared to the loss ShadowClan suffered. They'd lost their leader _and_ a warrior. At least we hadn't lost Firestar, however many lives he had left.

As I passed Thornclaw's body, I was hit by a feeling of remorse. I bent down and touched my muzzle to Thornclaw's forehead. "Your death will be avenged, my friend," I whispered, careful not to disturb Brightheart, who was mourning the loss of her brother. I saw Cloudtail trying to comfort her, but it wasn't working. Sadness shown clearly in his deep blue eyes.

Feeling like I was on my last limb, I sank into my nest in the Warrior's Den. Just as I was about to rest my head on some moss, a voice interrupted my relaxation.

"Brambleclaw?"

I looked around until I saw Lionblaze standing at the entrance to the den, his fur bristling and his eyes full of pain. His voice cracked as he said my name, and I was sure that he looked to be at his breaking point. Instantly, I was concerned. Though I wasn't his father, I still had fatherly feelings towards him.

"What is it, Lionblaze?" I asked, lifting my head.

"It… it's Hollyleaf," he blurted, looking down at his paws.

Worry trickled through me. "Hollyleaf? What about her?" I prompted, trying to get the golden tabby tom to tell me.

"She… she was found at the WindClan border, just a few tail-lengths away from the stream. She's… dead. There was WindClan scent all over her."

I stared at Lionblaze, hardly able to digest what he'd just said. I wasn't sure if it was true or not, but by the look in his eyes and on his face, I could guess that he wasn't lying. Shock and grief hit me all at once. As if Thornclaw's death wasn't enough, now ThunderClan had to face the loss of Hollyleaf?

"We think she was killed by Crowfeather."

Even more shock hit me in the face like cold water. Crowfeather! Why would he kill his own daughter? Anger followed the shock.

"Crowfeather?!" I asked, widening my eyes. "But why would he kill his daughter? It doesn't make any sense!"

Lionblaze lowered his head, his amber eyes blank. "I don't know," he murmured.

"Lionblaze. It's not your fault." I stood up and rested my muzzle on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about Hollyleaf… I can't believe she's gone."

Lionblaze looked up at me. "Me neither."

"Does the rest of the Clan know about Crowfeather?" I asked suddenly.

Lionblaze looked up again after looking down at his paws. There was a fierce, cold fire raging in his eyes that I hadn't expected to see. "No. But they will. All of the Clans will know about Crowfeather… and it will be _his downfall_." His voice was a snarl. I stared at Lionblaze in blatant shock. "Crowfeather will pay dearly for what he's done to me!"

* * *

I slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning in my nest and bothering the other cats around me. When dawn finally came, I was one of the first cats to emerge from the den.

When I emerged from the den, I saw Firestar sitting under the Highledge, alone and eating a mouse. When he saw me, he waved his tail, beckoning for me to come and sit with him.

I sat down next to him, sighing and laying my head on my paws. There, in the middle of the clearing next to Thornclaw's carcass, was Hollyleaf's body. It had rained that night, and her long black fur was flattened to her body, making her look like the size of an apprentice. Pain welled up in my heart and I tore my gaze from her body.

"I'm sorry about Hollyleaf." Firestar's voice was quiet and soft, as if he really understood what I was feeling - which he definitely didn't. Nobody could know what I was feeling. Firestar was her grandfather, but I had been her father - or, at least, the cat that took on the role of her father in place of her real father, the cat who had ended her life.

I simply shook my head in reply and pressed my head lower to the ground.

"It's hard, you know, dealing with the death of a loved one," Firestar continued, acting as if I had responded.

I really wanted to make a sarcastic comment in return, but I held it back, knowing that I was speaking with the leader. If I'd been speaking with any cat else, I would've unleashed the sarcasm long ago.

Firestar finished his mouse and licked his paws, and then ran his paws across his ears. The conversation died from there on out.

Cats started flooding from the Warrior's Den.

I spotted Squirrelflight, who started padding over to Firestar and I, and then I saw Lionblaze come out shortly after her.

All of the previous night's events came rushing back to me.

I looked to Lionblaze's eyes, fearful of what I'd see. The fire was still in his eyes, and his mouth was set in a grim, straight line of determination.

Determination… to do what?

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**I'm so sorry this chapter was so delayed. D: It's really super-duper late. And it's kinda lame x3 My apologies for the lameness going on in this chapter.**

**Poor Hollyleaf. D: She had to die, to keep the plot moving - like all Thornclaw/Blackstar fans, I'm sorry about killing her off. I really am. I really liked Hollyleaf ;) **

**Reviews make the next chapter come sooner~! **

**:D **


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